Juneteenth
By KEVIN J. SHUTT
kevin .shltt@newssun .corn
SEBRING - In addition to
the proclamation honoring
County Administrator Carl
Cool's 33 years of service to
Highlands County and receiving
word that Cool's replacement,
Michael Wright, accepted the
terms of his contract with an ini-
tial salary of $150,000 per year,
the commissioners approved
$1,000 in funding for the
Juneteenth celebration in
Washington Heights in their
Tuesday meeting.
"It is a day, a week, and in
some areas a month marked with
celebrations, guest speakers,
picnics and family gatherings,"
according to literature at
Juneteenth.com. "It is a time for
reflection and rejoicing. It is a
time for assessment, self-
improvement and for planning
the future."
However, in planning for its
future of declining tax revenue,
the county last year cut or
reduced spending to what it calls
"outside agencies."
Washington Heights'
Juneteenth celebration - which
originated in Texas to commem-
orate the June 19, 1865, enforce-
ment of the Emancipation
Proclamation, about 2 1/2 years
after its effective date - was
one of the events that fell to
budget cuts.
But, explained county public
information officer Gloria
Rybinski, an oversight retained
a $2,000 line item funding
Juneteenth.
The commissioners subse-
quently approved the budget,
which has been in effect since
Oct. 1.
When Robert Saffold, a
Washington Heights resident
an'd active member of the coun-
ty's community, asked for the
money budgeted for Juneteenth,
it wasn't something the county
could give to him because it
wasn't supposed to be in the
budget, Rybinski said Tuesday.
The item was brought before
the commissioners, who
approved $1,000 for distribution
to Juneteenth.

Courtesy photo
Richard Nelson Ryon, holding his younger son Robert, was killed
Christmas Day in 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge. Here he poses
with his three eldest children, just before shipping out. His daughter
Florence and eldest son Richard Jr. stand on either side.

Memorial Day memories

By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY
christopher.tuffley@ newssun.comi
M memorial Day has become
cluttered over the years.
Too often it's thought
of as the beginning of summer, an
extra day off, or the perfect time
for a mattress sale.
The comforts of peace are too
often taken for granted, the blood
spilled in keeping that peace all
too often forgotten.
But millions of Americans have
given their lives and we owe it to
them to remember their sacrifice
with awe and with gratitude.
Their families and friends

remember them.
They may, like Sue and Mike
Sawyer of Lake Placid, find sol-
ace that their loved one believed
in what he was doing, and now is
with God - but that can't stop
the lonely ache of the empty hole
in their hearts.
Their son, 25-year-old Army
Sgt. Marcus Mathes, was killed by
a mortar attack in Iraq on April
28.
Memories, however, keep
Marcus, and our other lost heroes,
alive on this Earth.
See MEMORIES, page 6A

A solemn day of

remembrance
By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY
christopher.tuffley@newssun .comn
Memorial Day was born
out of the Civil War. It is
meant to be a solemn
tribute to those killed in service to
their country.
Historians haven't traced any
one particular individual responsi-
ble for the idea, although some
credit the town of Waterloo, N.Y.
Most, however, believe it began
almost spontaneously in communi-
ties across the country that wanted
to honor and remember the fallen
heroes from that terrible and costly
war.
This was done primarily by dec-
orating soldiers' graves with flow-
ers, so the day was called
Decoration Day at first.
In 1868, General John Logan,
national commander of the Grand
Army of the Republic, proclaimed
the first official Memorial Day,
which was celebrated on May 30.
In the beginning, the day was
only celebrated in the north.
People refused to celebrate it in
the south. They honored the con-
federate dead on different days.
It wasn't until after World War I
that the nation reunited in respect-
ing its dead war heroes from all
wars, and Memorial Day became
national in scope.
In 1915 Moina Michael, a
See DAY, page 6A

Slashed tires at

used car lot leaves

$25,000 in damage

Rufus Brown offers $1,000
reward for arrest of suspects
By KEVIN J. SHUTT
kevin.shutt@newssun.com
SEBRING - Somebody slashed 152 tires on
38 of the 52 used cars for sale at Rufus Brown
R&R Elite Motors between Friday and
Saturday.
Leon Watson arrived at the 7200 U.S. 27
North dealership about 7:40 a.m. Saturday,
opened up the office and was moving a
Mitsubishi Lancer when he noticed a flat tire.
"They just stabbed them and went on,"
Watson said, scanning the lot north of his
office.
At first, he thought the Lancer just had a flat.
When he got out and saw another flat, he
hoped it was just pranksters who let out the air.
Of the 38 cars, only three had fewer than four
tires cut.
Watson called Highlands County Sheriff's
Office, which he said collected fingerprints and
other evidence that, would help investigators
identify the vandals.
He suspects there was more than a single per-
petrator.
"It could not be one person because they'd
drop dead from slashing all those tires,"
Watson said.
See TIRES, page 7A

Elwell's career shifts

gears to Alan Jay

Former Kenilworth Lodge
G.M. now finance manager
By KEVIN J. SHUTT
kevin.shutt@newssun.com
SEBRING - The man behind the marquee is
a 6-foot-82-inch sign of the times.
Known as one of the voices of the Heartland
and as the wit behind the tongue-in-cheek mes-
sages .on the south-facing hotel signs on
Lakeview Drive, former Kenilworth Lodge
General Manager Don Elwell had to write him-'
self out of the budget.
"He brought us to a level we've never been at
before," Kenilworth Lodge owner Mark
Stewart said Friday.
But, as are many other business owners in
the community, Stewart tightened his fiscal belt
to account for leaner times.
Adjustments were made throughout the
See ELWELL, page 7A

News-Sun photo by KATARA SIMMONS
Don Elwell has a new sign in front of his
place of business now, but he's hoping to get
one he can play with, too.

By MATT MURPHY
matt.mirphy@newssun .com
SEBRING - Ron Layne
spent Friday morning being
"surprised and flattered,
absolutely flattered."
And he had good reason to
be, as Mobility Express, the
company he started in 2006,
was named start-up company
of the year by the Highlands
County Economic
Development Commission.
Layne, president of
Mobility Express, had no idea
what was coming when he
was invited to Friday's break-
fast by EDC Executive
Director Louise England.
"Louise said I needed to be
at the breakfast," Layne said.
"The next thing I know, John
Shoop starts reading off my
bio. I knew I had been put in
for it, but up until that
moment I had no idea. She
kept the secret well."
Layne received a plaque
signifying the award, but he
also got the opportunity to
hear from people who were
served by the company in the
form of letters that were read
aloud at Friday's breakfast.
"It was flattering, I was
overwhelmed," Layne said.
"A lot of the letters said prior
to us going into this business,
the response for this type of

service 'was minimal at best.
The letters the EDC got spoke
better than we can speak."
Mobility Express was the
first licensed transport service
to operate in Highlands
County, and since its found-
ing the company has grown
and attracted competition as
well.
"It's like opening a shoe
store between Kmart and Wal-
Mart," Layne said. "It's been
a fight since we've started. I
think the area was neglected
until people drove by and saw
we had a fleet of vehicles."
Layne said when he first
moved here from Ohio, he
heard stories about emer-
gency room personnel having
to leave patients in hallways
and overflow rooms because
they had no way to . move
them. Mobility Express start-
ed by first moving patients at
night, and later it expanded
into the 24-hour operation it
is today.
"We sweated through four
to five months getting our
name out there, then it started
to grow," Layne said.
Since its founding,
Mobility Express has done
over 10,000 transports in the
county, and Layne hopes to
expand the business even fur-
ther.

Mobility Express has also
benefitted from working with
the Sebring Police
Department to get its employ-
ees pre-qualified to transport
elderly patients. Layne
specifically complimented the
work of Commander Steve
Carr and Vicki Hicks, SPD
administrative secretary, with
helping his company find and
license quality employees.
"If someone is taking an
elderly person home at night,
a lot of times they have to go
in the residence," Layne said.
"We want to have the highest
quality personnel, someone
who isn't a bad guy. Working
with the Sebring Police
Department wasn't necessari-
ly tried before, and it's been
very beneficial to everybody
involved."
Layne is also trying to keep
his company active in the
community in other ways. For
instance, on Tuesday a blood
drive will be held at the com-
pany's offices, 215 U.S. 27
South, from 3-5 p.m.
In the end, Layne said he
was touched and honored by
the EDC award.
"I would like to thank
everyone at the EDC and the
board that reviewed the mate-
rial, and anyone who sent in
recommendations," he said.

'Boone's Creek' author plans to

make Sebring year round home

By TREY CHRISTY
trey.christy@newssun .com
SEBRING - For part-time Sebring resident
and author Kathryn Neff Perry,
Highlands County is more than just the
setting of her latest book.
"It's different with the people in
Highlands County, (I) feel closer to ,
them," said the Ohio native. "I just love *-
everybody there; they have been just
marvelous."
Perry was recently in town for a N
book. signing at the Kenilworth Lodge,
a hotel that also graces the pages of her book.
The protagonist chooses to stay there while
investigating the disappearance of a mother
and her son.
Described as a mystery by Perry, "Boone's
Creek - Almost Home" is the first in the
"Boone's Creek" series.
Her next release in the series will be
"Secrets from the Sea," set in Palm Island,
near Sarasota.
"I've spent time in Palm Island and it's a
great place to get away, but I wouldn't live
there," she said.
Perry has different feelings about Sebring.

After falling in love with the county, she
plans to move here as a full-time resident by
the end of the year.

,. * .

Seff
leff

"The weather, I love the weather,
that goes without saying," she said.
"The palm trees ... driving through the
orange groves, and it doesn't matter
where you are in Highlands County,
you can drive a short distance and find
another lake."
Although she has kept journals off
and on for years, her first chance to see

her writing in print came when she worked as
a freelance reporter for a newspaper from
1984 to 1989.
Now she writes 2,000 words a day, drawing
from her experiences.
"I think the difference between my writing
30 years ago and today (is that) I have more
life experiences," she said. "A professor at
Ohio State told me to write what you know ...
but I didn't know a lot 30 years ago."
Her characters are inspired in part by just
that - conversations she had with friends
over the years.

News-Sun photo by KATARA SIMMONS
A large crowd releases balloons Saturday mid-morning in front of a huge flag during
a Memorial Day program at Lakeview Memorial Gardens in Avon Park. Attendees
were divided into groups andeach group rotated through an American Bald Eagle
story, a chain saw carving demonstration and the Chapel of Peace, which featured a
presentation by US Army Sgt. Jon Graham. In addition to balloons, the event con-
cluded with the release of doves and flags were placed on veterans graves. Keith
Carroll carved an eagle during the event, which was raffled off and won by John
Cecil, of Sebring.

Becker retires as Manna Ministries director

News-Sun staff reports
LAKE PLACID - In
1994, Thelma Becker had a
vision. She felt she was being
called to "feed my sheep."
She prayed and Memorial
United Methodist Church
gave her a house rent free.
From that little house on
Kent Street, Becker's prayers
were answered and her vision
to help the many people in
need began to take shape. Just
two short months later a cor-
poration was formed. By laws
were written making it a sep-
arate ministry from any one
church. The name Manna
Ministries was decided upon
using the symbol of "bread"
in the Bible and "Feed My
Sheep" as the motto. Matthew
25:40 was the scripture base.
Another prayer was answered.
Many men and women
came forward to help. They
enclosed the carport, built
shelves, put in windows and
air conditioners. In 1997 they
needed more room and as
Becker always said, "We.will
pray on it." Money was donat-
ed to buy a shed and a com-
puter. A young woman who

had been helped by Manna
Ministries came forward and
revised the files and pro-
grammed the computer.
Another prayer was answered.
In 1998 Manna Ministries
was given a house full of fur-
niture. The furniture was sold
and the money was used to
buy a much needed second
shed to hold the very success-
ful School Supplies drive.
This collection has continued
to help many needy children
in Lake Placid schools to
receive the tools they need.
Three refrigerators and four
upright freezers were given.
They provided the storage
space needed to purchase
food from Agape Food Bank
in Lakeland. A fourth prayer
was answered.
The sale of several cars and
the furniture from five homes
enabled Manna to renovate its
little house and buy a 12-by-
12-foot shed, making a pri-
vate office for Becker to talk
to people and pray with them.
Becker and others with
Manna Ministries praise the
community of Lake Placid for
its generosity in donating

food, clothing, furniture and
much needed dollars.
In the beginning, Manna
Ministries was open two days
a week with two women.
working per shift. Today,
about 40 volunteers man the
day-to-day operations five
days a week.
Manna Ministries served
more than 3,000 families last
year, including more than
2,100 children.
After 14 years as director
and a guiding force of Manna
Ministries, Becker has decid-
ed to turn it over to someone
else. That person is Marline
Christiansen who has stepped
forward to be the next direc-
tor.
A dinner is being planned
in Becker's honor at 6 p.m.
Tuesday, .June 10, at
Memorial United Methodist
Church.
Becker will remain as a
member of the ministry's
board of directors and will
continue to interact with
Manna's clients.
Anyone interested in
attending the dinner should
call Avis Keen at 465-7475.

In honor of those who were big enough, brave
enough to risk their all in keeping our dreams alive.
And then gave it.
The fact is, we owe these men and women more
than eloquent oration; more than flags snapping in the
breeze; more than parades, poems, or patriotic songs;
more than decorated graves.
We owe it to them to continue the United States of
America; to live up to the ideals of the founding
fathers.
Now more than ever we owe it to those who have
died on our behalf to stay positive and hopeful.
How dare we give in to our fears and give up and
give out in the face of their courage.
They died for us.
Now we must live for them.
OK. Things are tough in the here and now.
But how does paying $4 for a gallon of gasoline
compare with holding the line at Gettysburg, or jump-
ing out of an airplane over enemy territory in World
War II, or going on a midnight patrol in Baghdad?
It doesn't.
We owe it to those who have died for us to stop our
whining and self-pity.
We are alive, after all. And there is work to be done.
We can choose to reach out, set goals and work
together to reach them.
We can choose to believe we'll'pass on a better
world and a stronger America to our children, as those
who have died passed on to us.
We owe it to them to find a way to meet our chal-
lenges as successfully as they met theirs.
We cannot do less. We should try to do better.
So what more can.we say to those who have fallen?
We will not fail you.
We will overcome our differences.
We will fulfill the great, fair-minded, open-hearted
promise that is the United States of America.
We will not let you die in vain.

'With freedom of speech, the accent

is not on the speech itself but the

right to say it. And the right of the

-freedom of the press is the right to

read or hear it.'

LENNY BRUCE
comedian, 1965

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Make sure to sign youriletter and include your address and
phone number. Anonymous letters will be automatically rejected.
Please keep your letters to a maximum of 400 words.
Send your letter to 2227 U.S. 27 South, Sebring, FL 33870;
drop it off at the same address; fax 385-1954; or e-mail it to
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U

Letters

Veterans are members
of greatest fraternity
Editor:
On Memorial Day we pay tribute to those who
have fallen in defense of our nation.
As we remember, let's not forget the many '
among us still alive who have worn the uniform.
We know that even though they may throw away
the uniform, it is still on them every step of their
life.
These are the burdens of the job.
A veteran, whether active duty, retired, national
guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in
their life, wrote a blank check made payable to
"The United States of America," for an amount up
to and including their life. They are members of
the greatest fraternity the world has ever known.
God has said he will bless all those willing to give
their life for another.
Bob Kurabieski
Lake Placid

Graduation, California style
Editor:
I've been to a dozen of graduation ceremonies in
my line of work, but I have never been to one like
California State University at Fullerton, 5,000
graduates in two programs: an "exercise" and a
commencement. It took about an hour for the
whole group, graduates and faculty, to parade into
place.
We left Aliso Viedo at 6:30 a.m. to arrive at
California State University by 7:30 a.m., to find a
seat for the 8 a.m. program; about 3,000 were
already there. The "exercise" started after 9 a.m.
and was o~cr about 10:30 a.m. for a half-hour
break.
By the time the commencement started, it was
90 degrees and HOT! About halfway through, the
first groups receiving their certificates were

excused. Our graduate, sitting in the first row, dis-
covered about 11:30 a.m. her group behind her was
gone. There was general commotion from then on.
We finally escaped the parking lot about 1 p.m.
,They had three levels of cum laude: sub, magna
and summa (3.7, 3.8 and 3.9-plus GPA "Grade
Point Average") for 7-8 different academic schools
or divisions. Our graduate had only 3.8. This was
the 50th anniversary for California State University
and second largest graduation, 10,000 graduates
and undergraduates in ceremonies Friday, Saturday
and Sunday. The honors, awards, grants and schol-
arships were impressive. One graduate student
received a $1 million grant in communication
research. One alumnus donated $50 million for a
high tech center.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich gave an
interesting address, presenting his own personal
experiences over. a 40-year period to make several
points: a. you never know when a specific incident
or person will significantly affect your career; b.
you never know when a bad experience will
become a blessing in disguise; c. you have to know
who you are, don't focus on others, don't let others
influence your life, determine your own, after all
you have to live with it.
Our graduate, my grandniece, took 10 years to
get her degree. Like millions of others, she had to
support herself from age 17 and struggle through
the maze of academic requirement changes, plus
two changes in her major to complete those
requirements. This, indeed, was an auspicious
event among the many I have witnessed.
I wonder if the people of California are paying
attention to what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is
doing to their economy. For the second time in
three years, he has borrowed money to "fix" the
deficit out there. This time he is borrowing on lot-
tery proceeds that haven't materialized yet!
He didn't even have to run for governor; he was
drafted. The media and California pundits

smoothed the way. He merely walked into office,
the hero of the day. At that time, to solve the
deficit, he borrowed some $30 million (or was it
billion?). He simply followed the example of his
hero, Ronald Reagan.
Tragically, today the price paid is the layoff of
teachers and other professionals who were already
underpaid because of gross management, plus the
school kids who may not have a school to go to.
Yet, they do nothing about the illegals who make
up 25 percent of the school population. His type
* of conservation is not what the people of
California need. However, they voted for him
twice; so they got what they wanted?
Gabriel Read
Avon Park

Bouquet

Bands help with Hammock projects
Editor:
The Friends of Highlands Hammock State Park
(CSO Citizen Support Organization) has just com-
pleted it 2007-2008 Music in the Park series with
its California Toe Jam concert last Saturday night.
We were able to raise money for numerous park
projects because of the tremendous community
support of these low-cost family events.
We would like to thank the entertainers:
California Toe Jam (two times), Emanno, Back
Porch Revival, Suzanne and Jim, and Groovus who
provided the sounds that helped us raise money for
the Highlands Hammock State Park.
We are busy booking the groups for the 2008-
2009 series and expect to continue the improve-
ment of this quality event. Thanks to all who have
joined us in this effort.
Chet Brojek
Sebring

The writer is president of Friends of Highlands Hammock.

Laura's
Look
Laura Ware

Cruising is still

on the to-do list

If you're like me, you have in
your head or written down
somewhere a "List of Things
I'm Going To Do Someday." It
has things on it that you know
you can't do at the moment but
hope to accomplish sometime in
the future.
I don't know what's on your
list. Mine has several things-on
it. "Getting a novel published"
is one. "Flying first class just
once" was on it until I got the
chance to actually do it one
time in my travels. Now "flying
first class again" is on the list,
assuming it won't require a sec-
ond mortgage on the house to
pull it off.
One thing Don and I both had
on the list was "go on a cruise."
We have, in the past, done the
SeaEscape day cruises, which
means the boat goes out a ways
(far enough to allow people to
gamble, which is very popular
on these things), serves great
food and has some shows to
watch, and then comes back.
We enjoyed those day cruises
(not the gambling part, which
Don and I stay away from). But
they hardly count as a real
cruise, as in go away for sever-
al days. We thought that would
be fun to do, if we could ever
pull it off.
For a long time, we couldn't.
Like a lot of other people, we
had priorities and responsibili-
ties and things like cruises were
put off for "later," that indefi-
nite time we tend to place a lot
of things. Sadly, "later" some-
times becomes "never."
However, not in this case.
This year Don and I celebrated
our 25th wedding anniversary.
We decided'that getting to that
number of years and still loving
each other called for something
special. So we decided it was
finally time to go on a cruise.
We did our research and set-
tled on a Carnival cruise to the
Bahamas. Being our first cruise,
we of course overpacked. But at
least we didn't forget anything
important.
Getting to the cruise ship
required a drive to Miami,
which left us nicely tense by
the time we got to the dock. By
Saturday we were in the
Bahamas, where we discovered
our cell phones did not work.
This might be alarming for
some people, but I confess here
and now the thought that people
couldn't call us was a pleasant
one.
There isn't room in the col-
umn to do a blow-by-blow
description of the cruise, so
let's go with a Good Things and
Bad Things breakdown:
Good Things:
Food. The food is fantastic. If
you really wanted to, you could
spend an entire cruise doing
nothing but eating. Since I'm
trying to get my weight down, I
didn't eat all the time. I did,
however, allow some indul-
gences. The chefs knew how to
do chocolate!
Things to Do: We took a
lovely tour of Nassau, which
included a pirate museum. I
found a cup in the gift shop that
said, "Dead til I gets me cof-
fee." Some souvenirs just have
to be bought.
Service: A cruise ship crew
will spoil you if you. give them
half a chance. We gave them
more than half.
Bad Things:
At the end of the cruise,
when you have to re-enter the
real world, they make you do it
at a horribly early hour. Have I
said I'm not a morning person?
I wanted to be eased back to
reality, not thrust into it half

asleep.
In all it was a lovely time,
and I'd recommend it to anyone
who has it on their list. By the
way, new item on my things to
do someday list? "Go on anoth-
er cruise." Let's hope "later" is
sometime soon.

Laura Ware is a Sebring resident.
She can be contacted by e-mail at
bookwormlady@embarqmail.com

The News-Sun * www.newssun.com

The News-Sun * www.newssun.com

" I I

Nazarene Church
offers summer school
SEBRING - Sebring
,Nazarene Church is offering
a new summer school pro-
gram from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30
p.m. Monday-Friday, starting
June 16, for ages 5-12
(kindergarten through sixth
grades).
Cost includes a $30 regis-
tration fee and $65-$80
weekly, according to number
of children in family and
method of payment. Students
will bring sack lunches and
there will be weekly field
trips. Care is being provided
by Heidi DeLong.
Call or come by the school
office to pick up registration
forms anytime from 8 a.m. to
3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Limited availability - first
come, first serve.

Registrations taken to
vote in November
SEBRING - The
Highlands County Supervisor
of Elections office will be
taking voter registrations
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Monday at Wal-Mart.
Free hot dogs will be
offered, compliments of
SweetBay and Albertson's.
Children's entertainment will
also be provided.

Sebring Elks host
card/game party
SEBRING - Sebring Elks
1529 will have a card/game
party for members and guests
from 1-4 p.m. Thursday at
the Lodge.
For the cost of $3, snacks,
coffee and tea will be provid-
ed. Bring a group and game.

Blood Center open for
Memorial Day
SEBRING - Florida's
Blood Centers will be open
from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday. All registered blood
donors on this day will
receive a $10 gas card when
they donate blood.
O negative and A negative
blood donors are in great
need, but all blood types are
welcome.
Make an appointment at
www.floridasbloodcenters.org
or walk in. Call 382-4499
with questions.

Orchid Hill Stables
sets up camp dates
SEBRING - Orchid Hill
Staples has set up a number
of 2008 Summer Camp dates.
The dates are June 9-12, ,
June 16-19, June 23-26, July
7-10, July 14-17, July 21-24,
July 28-31, Aug. 4-7 and
Aug. 11-14.

Parish Nurses set up
free health fair
FROSTPROOF - The
Florida Hospital Parish
Nurses along with the
Frostproof Mission are spon-
soring a Free Health Fair
from 2-5 p.m. today at the
Depot, 118 E. Wall St.
The program will feature
door prizes, doctors' demon-
strations, youth activities,
snacks, senior exercises,
massage and numerous other
health programs. Free health
screenings including choles-
terol, diabetes and blood
pressure checks will also be
provided.
The event is open to the
public.

Wild Bill plays at
Moose lodge
LAKE PLACID - The
Lake Placid Moose will host
the following events this
week:
*Today - Pavilion open at
1:30 p.m. B&B dinner served
at 4 p.m. Music by Wild Bill
from 3:30-7:30 p.m.
*Monday - Lodge open
from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
For details, call 465-0131.

Legion Post 25 plans
casino cruise
LAKE PLACID - The
American Legion Post 25 in
Lake Placid will be hosting
the following events:
*Today - Lounge open
from 1-9 p.A. No music.
*Monday - Lounge open
from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Memorial Day at Elks at 11
a.m. Casino Cruise.
For details, call 465-7940.

Memorial Day picnic
set at Legion Post
AVON PARK - The
American Legion Post 69 in
Avon Park will host the fol-
lowing events:
*Monday - Memorial Day
picnic from 2-4 p.m. Food
will be served. Music by
Annie will be from 2-5 p.m.
*Tuesday - 40/8 meetings
will be at 6:30 p.m.
For more information, call
453-4553.

I

Sunday, May 25, 2008 * 5A

Local singer hopes for chance to

advance on Colgate Country Showdown

NARFE meets Tuesday
SEBRING - NARFE
Highlands County Chapter
288 will meet at 11 a.m.
Tuesday at Homer's
Smorgasbord in Sebring
Square. Lunch will be fol-
lowed by the business meet-
ing.
Delegates who attend the
Federation Convention in
Orlando will make reports.
All current and retired feder-
al employees (and their
spouses) are invited to
attend.

Shrine Ladies play
Bunco on Tuesday
AVON PARK - The pub-
lic is invited to play Bunco at
the Highlands Shrine Club,
2604 State Road 17 South, at
noon Tuesday.
The event is open to new
and experienced players; cost
is $2 per person.
Call 471-2425 for informa-
tion.

Christensens speak at
Orchid Society
SEBRING - The Orchid
Society of Highlands County
will hold its monthly meeting
at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The date
was changed from Monday
because of the holiday.
The meeting will be held
at the Highlands County
Agri-Civic Center, 4509
George Blvd.
This month's speakers will
be Dan and Margie
Christensen, owners of Dan
and Margie Orchids in Fort
Lauderdale. Their presenta-
tion will be on general orchid
culture and if you have a
problem with an orchid plant,
bring it in for them to look
at. They will have blooming
orchids for sale.
Guests are always wel-
come and participants do not
have to be knowledgeable of
orchids to attend.
For additional information,
contact Ed Fabik 465-2830 or
by e-mail at orchid
man124@yahoo.com or go to
the Web site http://orchidso-
cietyhighlands.org/.

Masons meet Tuesday
AVON PARK - The
Highlands Chapter 64, Royal
Arch Masons and Heartland
Council 43, Royal and Select
Masters will meet Tuesday at
Highlands Shrine Club, 2604
State Road 17.
The festivities of the
evening will start at 6 p.m.,
with a covered dish dinner
hosted by the York Rite
Ladies.
Awards will be presented
to members who were unable
to attend the Grand York Rite
Convention.
Highlands Chapter 64 will
receive the Four Veils Award
from the Grand Chapter and
Heartland Council 43 will
receive the Giblimite Award
from the Grand Council.
All area York Rite Masons
and their Ladies are invited
to attend. For further infor-
mation, contact Gabe
Moitozo at 465-6977 or Phil
Margetts at 699-6743.

By TREY CHRISTY
trey.clhristv@newssun.com
SEBRING - For local
singer Tiffany Elliot, a career
in country music could be just
a few months away.
The Lake Placid native has
performed on the local stage
for years, lending her voice to
-the Highlands Little Theater
and Heartland Idol.
She has garnered attention
in both, winning best actress
from the HLT for her portray-
al of Eliza Doolittle in "My
Fair Lady" and first runner up
in the original Idol competi-
tion.
Now her eyes are fixed on
an Orlando competition, but
she needs the support of the
community.
"Give me a chance to go to
the next level, I just want the
chance," she said. "I won't let
anybody down, I'll do as best
as I can and see where it takes
me."
Elliot is talking about the
2008 Colgate Country
Showdown, a competition
that has seen entries from the
likes of Billy Ray Cyrus and
Lee Ann Rhymes.
"They all entered the con-
test, (it's) one of the first
entries they made," said
Holly Elliot, Tiffany's moth-
er. "It's a stepping stone to
being seen and discovered -
it opens doors for them."
The younger Elliot is one
of 15 finalists from more than
100 entrants attending the
open call.
Of the 15, five were auto-
matically entered into the
next round, while 10 others,
including Elliot, were put on
a Web site.
The five with the most
votes online will advance to
compete with the next field of
10.
As a past Heartland Idol
contestant, Elliot compared
the experience to the original
Fox show.

"It was set up kind of like
American Idol," she said.
"Walk in, get a number, go in
and audition."
The different levels of
competition eventually lead
to Nashville, home to the
Country Music Hall of Fame,
and a $100,000 prize for the
winner.
"Right now I'm trying to
really pursue a career in
music, I'm auditioning as
much as I can no matter
where it brings me," she said.
"I'm trying to get out there
and see what happens."
To support Elliot's efforts
to reach the next level of the
competition, visit the Web
site at www.k92.com, and
click on 'listen, vote here'
under the headline 'K92FM
Colgate Country Showdown.'
Once there, voters can lis-

ten to an audio clip of Elliot
singing "There will come a
Day" by Faith Hill.
Elliot's name and clip are
the last on the list.
To vote for her, click her
name, found on the right side
of the page, then follow that
to a link titled 'vote here.'
Elliot is the first name on
the voting page, and as of
Friday evening was in first
place with 25 percent of the
vote, followed by contestants
with 18 and 12 percent.
"I want to thank everyone
for their support," she said.
"If I do get to the next round
it will bring me to Wet and
Wild on June 28, so if anyone
wants to come and have fun
and show support, please
come."
Voting closes on at 5 p.m.
Thursday.

Obituaries

Ted Fegers
Ted A. Fegers, 82, of Avon
Park diedMay 17, 2008. Born
in Chicago, he had been a res-"
ident of Highlands County
since the mid '80s. Over the
years, he owned three Fegers
|Health Stores
in Port
SCharlotte,
" "t Lake 'Placid
and Franklin,
N.C.
He is sur-
Fegers vived by his
daughters,
Nancy C. Reyburn of Avon
Park and Pattilyn Sausser;
brother, Bob; four grandchil-
dren and three great-grand-
children.
A memorial service will be
at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 17,
at Our Lady of Grace, 595 E..
Main Street, Avon Park. The
family suggests donations in
his memory be made to
Cornerstone Hospice, 1285
1st St. South, Winter Haven,
FL 33880. Arrangements
entrusted to Scott Funeral

Home, Lake Placid.'

James Lane III
James Frederick Lane III,
41, of Lake Placid died May
21, 2008. Born Dallas, Texas,
he spent the last 21 years in
the commercial building
industry in Florida.
Survivors include his
daughter, Megan Lane; twin
sons, Hunter and Chase; for-
mer wife and friend, Jennifer
Falls Lane; mother and step-
father, Sally and Richard
Steele; sister, Catherine Lane.
A graveside service will be
at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 27,
with Father Vicente Llaria
officiating.
Arrangements are being
handled by the Michael A.
Brochetti Funeral Home,
Lake Placid.

been a resident of Sebring
since 1983. He was a medical
doctor and a veteran of World
War II, serving in the U.S.
Army Infantry. He was mem-
ber of First Presbyterian
Church of Sebring.
He is survived by his wife
of 62 years, Joanne; daughter,
Angela K. Miller; and two
grandchildren.
A memorial service will be
at 11 a.m. Tuesday at First
Presbyterian Church of
Sebring with the Rev. Darrell
Peer officiating. Memorial
donations may be made in his
memory to First Presbyterian
Church of Sebring.
Arrangements have been
entrusted to Stephenson-
Nelson Funeral Home,
Sebring.

Special to the News-Sun
SEBRING - At a recent
meeting of the Veterans
Council of Highlands County
Inc., donations for the
Veterans Assistant Relief
Fund were presented.
On behalf of the VFW 3880
Ladies Auxiliary, Past
President Suzanne Krueger
presented Carl Arthur with a
check in the amount of $200.
Also on behalf of the Lake
Placid Masonic Hi-12 Club
595, First Vice President
Charles Krueger made a pres-
entation of $250.
This money is used for the

0ota

tip?

a .

assistance of the county's
homeless veterans and the
ones that are in dire need of
assistance. When a veteran is
in need of help, the fund
gives the assistance that is
needed to help pay bills, get
them food, etc. (no monetary
donation is given them) wher-
ever the need is after they
have been investigated by the
Relief Fund committee. This
is a very worthwhile cause as
there are a lot of veterans in
Highlands County that are in
need of help.
To contribute to the coun-
ty's veterans call Carl Arthur
at 385-2785. ,

Cremation.

Set the whole story.
There's more to cremation than just the cremation
For example, did you know that the cremated remn-ains
can be buried, scattered or memorialized in a niche or
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can choose to have a service or gathering In fact, we
encourage it. For many families, the service is the first
step toward moving ahead after a loss. Call or mail
, the attached coupon for a free brochure that tells
the entire cremation story
Stephenson-Nelson
FUNERAL H(O)NES & CRENLIT(.)RY
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News-Sun file photo
Tiffany Elliott, who played Eliza Doolittle in 'My Fair Lady,'
is hoping Highlands County residents can help her land a
spot on the 2008 Colgate Country Showdown.

-------

6A * Sunday, May 25, 2008

The News-Sun * www.newssun.com

MEMORIES
Continued from 1A
Which is why the News-Sun
visited American Legion and
VFW posts in Highlands
County, to honor the many
with stories bf a few.

When Fathers
Are Heroes
When Bob Ryon, com-
mander of VFW Post 4300 in
Sebring, was asked who he
thought of on Memorial Day,
he answered without hesita-
tion.
"My father," he said. "His
name was Richard Nelson
Ryon. He died Christmas Day
during the Battle of the Bulge
in 1944. He was a bazooka
man, and left four children
behind; the youngest one he
only saw once. "
Bob Ryon explained that
his father had been buried in
Luxembourg, but after the war
under a program offered
by the Pentagon to the spous-
es of veterans buried overseas
- his body was returned to
the United States for burial at
home.
"I was about 5 at the time
of the funeral," Ryon said,
"and I remember the 21-gun
salute and the military burial.
It is why I'm part of an honor
guard today."

Private Pain
Not every veteran was
ready to open up.
One man, a member of the
honor guard and an Air Force
veteran, had to clench his
hands at one point and fight
back tears as he remembered
moments of his past in Korea,
and friends long dead.
He finally shook his head
apologetically. "I'm sorry,
no," he almost whispered
when asked if he had a story
to tell.
Many of the men were
guarded, but it was clear they
were guarded in a way only
meant to protect the people
remembered.
Jack Devane, a member of
American Legion Post 25 in
Lake Placid and a veteran of
Vietnam, reluctantly spoke of
being assigned to the 1st Air
Cavalry. He arrived at the
division in 1968, along with
another new recruit named
Cookie Canales, whom he had
never met before.
Because they arrived
together they formed a bond.
Canales, of Mexican descent,
was from San Antonio.
He was killed two months
later by sniper fire.
"His narfie has always been
a part of my memory on
Memorial Day," Devane said
quietly, looking away.

Generations Of
Sacrifice
At VFW Post 9853 in Avon
Park, it isn't until after Andre
Hartzell has spoken with
pride about his father and
grandfather that he speaks
about himself - and then
only because his friends tease
him into it.
First, he had pointed out he
is simply the third Hartzell to
answer his country's call.
His father, Arthur Hartzell,
served as a captain on General
John "Black Jack" Pershing's
staff during World War I. He
is always the first person
Andre thinks of as a hero.
"My father was in intelli-
gence," he says.
"Unfortunately, he died in
December of 1940 or I'm sure
he would have worked in
intelligence during World War
II."
Then he talks about his
grandfather, Clinton Hartzell,
who joined the Union Army
as a 15-year-old drummer boy
in the Civil War. He was capr

tured and spent two years in
the dreaded Andersonville
prisoner of war camp. Clinton
Hartzell survived, but
emerged from the camp with

Courtesy photos
Clinton Hartzell (left) was an intelligence officer serving on General John Pershing's staff
during World War I. His father had been a teen-age drummer in the Civil War, and his son,
Andre Hartzell (right), was awarded a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts with the 187th
Airbourne Regimental Combat Team during the Korean War.

tuberculosis.
It isn't until Andre Hartzell
begins to talk about his own
experience, that the horror of
war bleeds through.
Himself a combat veteran
of Korea with three Purple
Hearts and a Silver Star, he
couldn't remember any partic-
ular fellow soldier.
But that is because of the
nature of his experience.
"The movement was so
fast," he said, "and we were
losing so many people; it was
impossible to keep up.
"I got into Korea in April
of 1951, in a situation on a
spearhead with tanks. In the
end we lost all but 17 men out
of 200. And 1 hate to say it,
but I joined the outfit as an E-
3 (a private first class), and in

two and a half months I was
serving in the capacity of an
E-7 (master sergeant)."
However, Hartzell, who
also remembers when 30
degrees Fahrenheit inside a
bunker seemed warm com-
pared to the 50-below-zero
temperature outside, doesn't
believe he is a hero.
"I did my job as I saw it,
and as I was given it to do,"
he said quietly.

Finally Home
Like Hartzell, Lou Werk,
the second vice commander of
American Legion Post 25, is
also a veteran of the Korean
War.
And like Hartzell, he can-.
not remember any one person
in particular.

That is because Werk
served as navy corpsman in
San Diego, on the wards
where the returning wounded
were treated and then shipped
out to specialty medical cen-
ters or hospitals closer to
home.
"The only thing I saw was
blood," Werk said. "I saw
hundreds of guys and I can't
remember a day without
blood."
He sighs at the memory, sit-
ting back in a folding chair in
the Post's business office.
Doris Rash, the Auxiliary's
secretary, has been listening
to Werk. "So many heroes
who don't have faces," she
says.
All the more reason to
remember.

DAY
Continued from 1A
teacher from Good Hope, Ga.,
was the first person to pro-
mote wearing red poppies on
Memorial Day. The idea
caught on, not just here but
around the world.
In 1922, the VFW was the
first organization to nationally
sell poppies, the proceeds
going to help veterans.
Observance of Memorial
Day shifted to the last
Monday in May when
Congress enacted the National
Holiday Act of 1971, creating
three-day weekends for feder-
al holidays.
Here in Highlands County,
Memorial Day has always
been respected and honored.
These feelings are reflected
in a poem written by Kevin
Smart, who is retired from the
Air Force. Smart dedicated
the poem to his father, John
Smart, who, during the
Korean War, also served in
the Air Force.
John Smart survives, but as
the head of the local VFW
Honor Guard he has con-
tributed to many services for
the fallen. His son's poem
speaks to them.

His Time Of Peace Has Come

Lay the man gently down
Down down down
Down down down
Gently lay him down
Into the bosom of the earth

In times long past his body
strong
He served a heart-felt cause

Chest out with pride he sacri-
ficed
Sacrificed sacrificed
So, gently lay him down

With stars in his eyes he stood,
the test
White-striped with pure resolve
Red-striped with honor
Brothers lost Brothers lost
Be gentle now

Times of war Times of peace
Times of war Times of peace
Pride Resolve Honor
Times of peace

So, lay the man gently down
Six feet down down down
In times of war lay him down
His time of peace has come
So gently now, gently,
Gently lay him down

ELWELL
Continued from 1A
hotel's operations.
In the end, it was a finan-
cial decision to eliminate
Elwell's position. Stewart
said.
"Don is a friend," he said.
"He's an awesome guy to be
around."
Sitting in his glass-wall
enclosed office at the Alan
Jay Nissan dealership Friday
morning, Elwell discussed the
challenges of learning a new
job in a career field far
removed from hospitality.
"This county has been very,
very nice to me." he said,
while a fax machine spat
paper onto the floor behind
him.
Because the community
took him in and because of his
children and stepchildren,
Elwell didn't want to take his
job search on the road.
Though he had a prospect
in the Tampa area, he decided
to make "a total shift in
gears" (with Elwell, the puns
are always intentional), leav-'
ing the hotel business to avoid
saying goodbye to Highlands
County.
The shift wasn't automatic.
Stewart gave him most of
April to find a new job. The
decision to eliminate Elwell
was made in March, after a
relatively slow January-to-
March tourist season failed to
produce anticipated revenue.
"Mark. was nice enough to
say, 'I hate doing this,'"
Elwell said. "It was a business,
decision and I understood."
Elwell landed the business
and finance manager position
at the Nissan dealership.
"To start in finance, I guess
that's a little bit unusual," he
said, explaining Alan Jay
Wildstein took a "leap of
faith" in hiring him for a posi-
tion employees usually work
toward from within.
Elwell's boss, Joel
Timmons, general sales man-
ager, has worked in every
aspect of the business, from
detailing cars when he was 14
-years old to managing a deal-
ership.
Elwell's learning curve has
been huge. He spent the pre-
vious 15 years in hospitality.
Week one was "intensive"
training at Deerfield Beach,
which included day-long
classes followed by three
hours of homework.
"There's a whole lot of
ethics training," Elwell said,

News-Sun photo by KATARA SIMMONS
Don Elwell (from left), Carlos Fuentes and Joel Timmons are
the fresh faces at Alan Jay Nissan. 'We're putting fresh faces
in here and getting it up and running and making it part of
the community,' Timmons, the general sales manager, said,
explaining most of his staff are new, if only transferred from
another dealership in the Alan Jay Automotive Network.

laughing at the jokes writing
themselves in his head.
A 70 percent score was
required to pass ethics. Elwell
was pleased to reveal he
scored 95.
"There's a lot of compli-
ance and it's a lot more
involved than I thought it
would be," he said of the
voluminous paperwork com-
pared to his previous job.
"But, the bottom line is that
it's about people and that's
what I'm good at."
Elwell is happy to be gain-
fully employed within the
county, but it came at a price.
His schedule keeps him at
work at least 55 hours
between Monday and Friday,
then he works most Saturdays
and Sundays, a typical sched-
ule for management, he said.
People accustomed to see-
ing Elwell emceeing various
events will see fewer appear-
ances.
And there's the obvious
stress on family commitments
and quality time together.
"That is going to be a chal-
lenge," he said, explaining
that Wildstein supports his
public presence, but job
responsibilities may preclude
it.
Wildstein even gave Elwell
the green light to run for
county commissioner.
Elwell recently moved
from Commission Chairman
Edgar Stokes' district to
Commissioner C. Guy
Maxcy's, but the demands of
the job prevent Elwell from
being a serious contender.
"I don't know that Guy
really had anything to worry

Salutes Veterans license plates help

support Florida VA nursing homes

about," Elwell said, bowing
out of a race he never entered.
"He probably didn't see me as
a threat."
Not running is the sole
regret Elwell harbors in how
this played out.
Having lived here 4%2 years
and becoming a part of the
community instead of'just liv-
ing in it, Elwell wanted to
"give back."
"One of my goals was to
run for county commission-
er," he said, not ruling out a
future bid for office.
In the meantime, he'll
lobby Wildstein for a three-
line, electronic sign.
"Of course, he'll have to
find somebody to do that,"
Elwell said, joking about who
might step up to the challenge
of delivering smiles via the
proposed sign.
Up until May 17, Elwell
was writing the messages that
greet northbound motorists
passing by Kenilworth Lodge.
Regina Howard assumed
the responsibility and has big
shoes to fill (Elwell wears a
size 14EEE).
"They probably won't be as
topical as I was," Elwell said,
anticipating the same tradi-
tion of recognizing off-the-
wall holidays but not expect-
ing the same fun-poking at
local issues of the moment.

CREEK
Continued from 2A

"I incorporate two or three
friends into a character in my
book, that's the way charac-
ters have come about," she
said. "Through life experi-
ences."
While talking about her
love of Sebring, she brought
up the downtown area and the
recent closing of businesses

on The Circle.
"I want to do some type of
seminar and speaking
engagements," on The Circle,
she said. "If I can do it
through my books ... bring
business back to Sebring."
The Kenilworth Lodge
book signing was the most
successful so far, with Perry
selling all of her books on
hand.
For those who missed the
signing and want to find out
more about the Highlands

County mystery, they can
visit authorsden.com/kathyrn
neffperry for Perry's daily
blog, information on purchas-
ing the book and the release
of additional titles in the
"Boone's Creek" series.
Perry is a member of
Sisters in Crime, an organiza-
tion for female mystery writ-
ers, and the American
Christian Fiction Writers.
Her book is available on
her Web site and
www.Amazon.com.

News-Sun photo by KATARA SIMMONS
Leon Watson points to the 1-2 inch cut in the tire of a Mitsibushi Lancer, the first of 38
vehicles he discovered with slashed tires at Rufus Brown R&R Elite Motors in North
Sebring.

TIRES
Continued from 1A
Watson said.
The tires had cuts about 1-
2 inches long.
, A variety of vehicles were
targeted, but there was no
other damage such as. to rag-
top convertibles or paint.
Nothing appeared to be
missing, Watson said.
"It was just a random act of

deductible, will cover the
estimated $25,000-$30,000 in
damages.
All tires on all affected
vehicles have to be replaced,
even if they weren't cut.
Explained Watson, that's
because the new tires must
match the old models.
A trailer full of tires should
arrive Monday and by
Wednesday, all the. tires
should be replaced.
Watson said the dealership

violence," he said, e\plainingj~.as been busy despite poten-
the first thing he did \\as tial iwmers' inability to
notify his boss, Rufus Brown. test-Iive most cars.
Insurance, minus a hefty "Looks like one of the guys

was left handed," he said,
looking at fingerprints
deputies had dusted and
demonstrating how a suspect
may have supported his
weight with one hand while
bending over to stab the tire
with the other.
To expedite the capture of
the suspects, Watson said
Elite Motors is putting up a
$1,000 reward for informa-
tion resulting in arrests and
convictions.
Leads can be provided to
the Sheriff's Office at 402-
7200, or Heartland Crime
Stoppers, (800) 226-TIPS.

Special to the News-Sun
With the purchase of a
Florida Salutes Veterans or
one of the approved Army,
Navy, Air Force or Coast
Guard Military Service
license plates, a portion of the
proceeds will go to help peo-
ple who need it most, when
they need it most.
The entire $15 surcharge
goes into a trust fund for the

operation and maintenance of
Veterans' Homes in Florida.
A portion of the Marine Corps
and Support Our Troops
license plates also supports
the State Veterans' Homes
Program.
Any owner of a Florida
vehicle can purchase the tags
supporting the different
branches of the U.S. military,
or the "Support Our Troops"
license tag.

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"I SAVED MY MOTHER' S LIFE...
I KNEW THE SINS' .
"Mom complained of severe headache, and when she started slurring her
words - I knew she was having a stoke and that time was of the essence.
I called 911 and asked to be taken to Florida Hospital."
Know the signs and risk factors so you can detect and
protect your loved ones from a stroke. If you or someone you
know experiences a sudden onset of one of more stroke warning signs, call
911 immediately.

house May 29
Special to the News-Sun
AVON PARK - The Career
Academy at South Florida
Community College will host an
open house for prospective stu-
dents and their parents at 6:30
p.m. Thursday in Building T,
Room T-20, Highlands Campus,
Avon Park.
Representatives from The
School Board of Highlands
County and SFCC's Division of
Applied Sciences and
Technologies will present infor-
mation about The Career
Academy, which opens in
August 2008. Afterwards, guests
are welcome -to tour college
classrooms and meet the SFCC
instructors who will teach the
academy's technical classes.
The Career Academy at SFCC
is a new venture of The School
Board of Highlands County and
the college's Division of
Applied Sciences and
Technologies. Students will
spend a half day in standard aca-
demic classes, taught by school
district teachers, and a half day
in college-level technical cours-
es taught by SFCC instructors.
The Career Academy at SFCC
is an extension of the Early
College/Dual Enrollment pro-
gram with the advantage that
See OPEN, page 13A

By TREY CHRISTY
trey.christy@newssun.com
SEBRING - When Sebring residents think of
taking lunch on the beach, owners of the Sunset
Grille want the restaurant on the shore of Lake
Jackson to be the first thing to pop into their heads.
"We will serve you right up to the dirt," said
manager Mark Biermann. "There is no other place
around here that does this kind of theme."
Patrons can come to their restaurant and enjoy
the "beachy" atmosphere without having to shell
out gas money to get to the coast, he said.
"With the price of everything, I wouldn't spend

$100 to get to the coast," said owner George
Edison.
Edison said he plans on keeping the upscale din-
ing the same on the inside while expanding busi-
ness outside to the beach. *
A volleyball net and competition will add to the
ambiance, and boaters are welcome to pull up from
the lake instead of traveling by car.
"We want to make it a fun. place for people to
come," Biermann said.
Outdoor patrons will be able to select food from
See GRILLE, page 13A

It happened fast. Our
right front tire went off
the pavement. Dave hit
the brakes, probably
because of the steep
mountain drop on the
right side of the left-
ward curve we were
on. He yanked the
wheel back toward the
road.
Wrong move, as any
driving instructor will,
tell you. A ton and a

Business
Advisor
Forrest Steele

half of Jeep Cherokee bore
down on the right front tire as it
bit the pavement and slung us
into the oncoming lane. We had
forward visibility of about 20
yards because of the rock wall
on the inside of the curve.
Luckily, no vehicle was coming.
Dave overcorrected a few times
in a diminishing series of fish-
tails until the car slowed and
came under control.
All of this probably took less
than five seconds. Neither of us
spoke for 10 more while I tried
to swallow my heart and
breathe.
"Dave, I thought you knew
what to do if you got a tire off
the edge of the road!" I
exclaimed. Actually there were
a few more words in that sen-
tence, but this is a family news-
paper. Then I told him that pri-
ority one in that situation is not
to overreact, but to let the vehi-
cle gradually slow. You make
sure you have it under control,
then slowly bring the errant
front wheel back on the road.
No hard braking or wheel-whip-

ping unless it's
absolutely necessary to
avoid colliding with an
object on the shoulder.
I've drifted onto the
shoulder several times
before and this proce-
dure works like a
charm.
Silence from Dave.
He is a very proud
individual and I knew
better than to keep
flogging this driving

error of his.
It's not necessary to be on a
mountain road to have a tragic
end to what should have been a
minor correction. I am con-
vinced that ignorance of this
basic driving technique is the
cause or an important contribut-
ing cause of many of the deadly
accidents we are so used to
hearing about. Cell phone use,
driving at excessive speed and
driver impairment are known
factors in the loss of control
behind many such wrecks, and
these things are to be deplored.
I can't help wondering, though,
how many of these situations
could have resulted in a recov-
ery if the driver was aware of
the unforgiving physics
involved in braking and steering
while changing from one driv-
ing surface to another.
This is a business column,
not a driving column, but I had
to draw this example out a bit in
order to make a few points.
First, there are often multiple

The News-Sun would like to
remind the readers that the&
names listed below reflect,
those who have been charged
with a crime, but they are all
innocent until proven guilty by
a court of law. If anyone listed
here is acquitted or has
charges dropped, they can
bring in proof of such decision
or mail a copy to the paper
and the News-Sun will be
happy to report that informa-
tion. The News-Sun is at 2227
U.S. 27' South, Sebring, FL
33870.

The following people were
booked into the Highlands
County Jail on Monday, April
21:
* Jose R. Astoriga, 22, of
Groveland, was recommitted
for operating motor vehicle
without valid license; and
false identification giver to
law enforcement officer.

The following people were
booked into the Highlands
County Jail on Thursday, April
17:
* Jonathan Charles Aaron,
27, of Avon Park, was charged
on an out-of-county warrant
for violation of probation for
possession of cocaine.
. Cesar Cassillass Arista, 18,
of Sebring, awaiting trial for
failure to appear for two
counts of no valid driver
license.
* Ereck Elias Caston, 22, of
Sebring, awaiting trial for fail-
ure to appear for domestic
violence or battery.
* Suzanne H. Cisneros, 43,
of Sebring, awaiting trial for
failure to appear for no motor
vehicle registration.
* Luis Lebron, 21, of Avon
Park, awaiting trial for fleeing
or eluding police at high
speed; hit and run, leaving
scene of crash involving dam-
age to property; and resisting
officer, obstruction without
violence.
* Kimberly Ann Marshall, 21,
of Sebring, was recommitted
for driving while license sus-
pended, first offense.
* Gregory Keith McCullors,
47, of Sebring, was charged
with probation violation, felony
or community control for pos-
session of cocaine; and tam-
pering wilh physical evidence.
* Jason Alleh Mc''04en, 21,
o ,Sebrjng, wjs charged with
probation violation, misde-
meanor or community control
for possession of cannabis;
and possession of drug para-
phernalia. ,"
* Salvador Merlo, 41, of Avon
Park, was registered as a con-p
victed felon.
* Kevin Marshall Neff, 33, of
Avon Park, was registered as

The. following people were
booked into the Highlands
County Jail. on Wednesday,
April 16:
* Jonathan Charles Aaron,
27, of Avon Park, awaiting trial
for contempt of court, child
support.
' Christopher Michael
-'Cerrato, 31, of Lake Placid,
was charged with probation
violation, misdemeanor or
community control for domes-

FULLY LICENSED & INSURED

385-4690

John Griffin
Owner of Griffin's Carpet Mart
News-Sun Reader

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Our readers use their local newspaper as
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83% of adults over the age of 18
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of those readers share their paper
with friends, colleagues or family
members. More than doubling the
number of people who see the paper.

Heacock Insurance
represents Nationwide
SEBRING - Heacock -
Insurance, in Lakeland and.
Sebring, has been appointed
to represent Nationwide '
Insurance Company for prop-
erty and casualty insurance.
Heacock is the first inde-
pendent insurance agency /
in Florida appointed by
Nationwide. *

Center presents free
business seminar

SEBRING - The Small
Business Development Center
of the Heartland will present
a free seminar titled "Steps To
Start A Small Business" from
2-4 p.m. Wednesday at the
Greater Sebring Chamber of
Commerce Welcome Center,
227 U.S. 27 North.
The seminar will be taught
by Bill McKown, certified
business analyst with the
SBDC. It is designed for per-
sons thinking of starting a
small business, or who have
started a business, and want
to make sure they did it cor-
rectly. Licenses, marketing
and business plans are among
the items discussed.
. Call McKown at 784-7379
to reserve a space in the semi-
nar or for further information.

New law firm opens
offices in Sebring
SEBRING - Sessums &
Sessums, P.A. has announced
the opening of their new
offices in Lakeland and
Sebring. The civil law firm
practices in the following
areas: personal injury and
wrongful death; general civil
law; marital and family Law;
business and banking law;
appellate law and representa-
tion of professional athletes.
The Sebring office is at 559
S. Commerce Ave.
The principal partners are
Mark and Stephen Sessums, a
son and father team with 68
years of combined legal expe-
rience.
Both are graduates of the
University of Florida and are
members of The Florida Bar
Association and Fellows of
the American Academy of
Matrimonial Lawyers.
Contact Mark Sessums at
(863) 646-8181.

Bring it back party
SEBRING - Poshe Day
Salon is taking on a new proj-,
ect. The staff there is asking
people to bring in those
orphaned beauty products.
The staff is collecting the
orphaned (silghtly used) prod-
ucts through June 13 tO be
redistributed to needy and
.worthwhile charities such as
New Testament Mission and
Marge Brewster's House for
Women.
If it doesn't curl, color, or
hold your fancy, take it to
salon in exchange, for a Poshe
Day Dollar towards another
product. The invitation is also
extended to fellow profession-
als at other salons. All dona-
tions are tax deductible.
Poshe Day Salon is at 2365
U.S. 27 S. in Sebring in
Banyan Plaza.

Courtesy photo
One of the nurses at Florida Hospital Heartland Division
tries on her pair of Special Edition Nike Shox, given to her
by the hospital for Nurses Week.

Fla. Hospital nurses get new

shoes to kick off Nurses Week

Special to the News-Sun
SEBRING - Each year
thousands of people come to
Florida Hospital Heartland
Division in Sebring, Lake
Placid and Wauchula. Many
visit at the most vulnerable
points in their lives. So
Florida Hospital celebrates
nurses each year at this time.
This year each registered
nurse and licensed practical
nurse was given a special-
edition pair of Nike Shox
(valued at $120 pair) as a
"thank you" for their loyalty,
hard work and commitment to
patients.
These uniquely-designed
1908 Edition Shox are made
only for Florida Hospital by
Nike and the styles change
annually for both men and
women. The partnership
began in 2005,when a Florida
Hospital nurse persistently

approached Nike about mak-
ing comfortable nursing
shoes. Instead, Nike suggest-
ed walking/running shoes
with a distinctive design only
available to Florida Hospital
staff members. So far more
than 40,000 pairs of 1908
Edition Shox have been dis-
tributed.
The 1908 Edition name
was chosen to honor Dr.
Lydia Parmele who opened
the first Flbrida Hospital
(known as the Florida
Sanitarium) in Orlando on
Lake Estelle through commu-
nity donations-in 1908. Since
that time, Florida Hospital
Heartland Division is part of
a network of 17 Florida
Hospitals in the state. Florida
Hospital Heartland Division
is proud to be celebrating 60
years in Highlands County.

Special to the News-Sun
WAUCHULA - Stevens
Construction Inc. has started
construction on the Florida
Hospital Heartland Division
Hardee Emergency Room
announced Mark Stevens,
company president.
Designed by Burt
Hill/Pollock Kreig Architects
Inc., the 5,350-square-foot
renovation will be completed
in three phases while the hos-
pital remains in operation.
Renovations include a phar-
macy remodel, addition of a
nurse's station and the recon-
figuring of the emergency and
treatment rooms.
Terry Tjelmeland of
Stevens Construction is the
project manager, Mike
Bussiere is the superintend-
ent, and Jackie Barnett is the

Get A"oticerI
_-.a ve ise ro,-,,y ..

1NTew.s-Suan

project administrator.
This is Stevens
"Construction's eighth project
for Florida Hospital. The
company also built a 36-bed,
50,000-square-foot expansion
and remodeled a free-standing
medical office on the hospi-
tal's Sebring campus.
Based in Fort Myers,
Stevens Construction special-
izes in providing construction
management, general con-
tracting, and consulting serv-
ices to clients and design pro-
fessionals. Other services
include site and design team
selection, budgeting, project
scheduling, permitting, cost
and quality control, and war-
ranty service.

Courtesy photo
Stevens Construction Inc. has started work on the Hardee campus emergency room of
Florida Hospital.

'Sunday, May 25, 2008 * 13A
mm mm

STEELE
Continued from 9A
causes behind any bad out-
come. Sometimes it's not
possible to deal with all the
causes behind a developing
crisis, and there may be just
one cause you can actually
do something about in the
moment. Maybe that's all
that needs to be done to buy
some time to deal with the
big picture.
So don't overreact.
Concentrate on making sure
you are under control.
The last point I would
make about this has to do
with competence. Are you
schooled in the basics of
operating a business? Even if
you are, you know you have
strong points and weak
points, so the question
becomes do you have
employees or others who can
complement your knowledge
and skills? If so, do you lis-
ten to them'?
I knew a guy in the apparel
business (back when we actu-
ally had apparel manufactur-
ing in this country) who saw
sales slumping and decided
to solve his problem by
leveraging his company and

OPEN
Continued from 9A
students eliminate travel time
by spending the full -school
day at the Highlands Campus.
Costs are deferred for tuition
and books. By undergoing
technical training while in
high school, students can earn
a diploma while completing
all or most of the require-
ments for a certificate or asso-

GRILLE
Continued from 9A
a menu with an island theme,
including a variety of drink
specials.
Edison owns businesses in
the Florida Keys, and wants
to create the same island feel
for his Sebring restaurant.

buying another maker of sim-
ilar goods that was available
for sale. What happened was
that he ended up buying a
bunch of accounts receivable
that for various reasons paid
very poorly, adding cash flow
strain to an already tight situ-
ation. Sales of the combined
operation continued to stall.
Wheel off the road.
He then applied his consid-
erable sales skills and got
substantial new orders for a
new line of clothing he creat-
ed. Unfortunately this
required obtaining entirely
new stocks of raw materials,
further depleting cash.
Jerking the wheel.
Then it became obvious
that the manufacturing for
the initial company and the
acquired company was too
complicated for his manage-
ment to control in the two
factory locations, so it was
all combined in one factory.
The daunting task of integrat-.
ing the manufacturing was
further complicated by
adding in the new produc-
tion, which consisted of dif-
ferent goods involving differ-
ent manufacturing dynamics.
Fishtailing.
Costs now soared as pro-
duction had to be geared to

ciate's degree in applied sci-
ences. Once they graduate,
they will be qualified to hold
a well-paying job in the tech-
nical field of their choosing.
The technical training pro-
grams available are adminis-
trative secretary, air condi-
tioning, refrigeration and
heating, automotive collision
repair, automotive service
technology, computer engi-
neering, computer network-
ing, culinary arts, drafting,

"People need more of a fun
atmosphere, and we feel we
can really bring that atmos-
phere to Sebring," Biermann
said.
The outside deck will
include an eclectic mix of
.entertainment from live bands
and disk jockeys.
This new addition to the

producing whatever would
mean generating the most
cash the soonest as opposed
to what was profitable or to
what would placate the loud-
est of his unhappy customers.
The company filed for
Chapter 11 (Crash!).
Although Chapter 11 is a
haven for many firms to right
their affairs and emerge in
healthy condition, this com-
pany was not to survive. The
spectrum of business chal-
lenges was just too great for
this particular management
team to master, and the firm
ended up in liquidation.
Could this have been
avoided? You bet! Think
about what could have been
done in the early stage of this
business disaster. (Hint: Was
he really in the business of
manufacturing, or in the
business of designing and
selling fashions at affordable
prices?) Could he have
slowed down and made sure
'things were fully under con-
trol before making a radical
change?

Forrest Steele is a financial and
operational business consultant
and lives in Lake Placid. He can
be reached at forreststeele@yahoo.
comn.

electronics, and 'medical sec-
retary.
For more information about
The Career Academy open
house, call 784-7424.
Tenth- and llth-graders
who wish to enroll in the
academy in the fall should
visit their high school guid-
ance counselor or call 453-
4311 in Avon Park, 471-5500
in Sebring, and 699-5010 in
Lake Placid.

restaurant was only thought of
a few months ago.
"We moved really fast, but
put a lot of work into it,"
Biermann said.
Sunset Grille will start
serving beach patrons at 11
a.m. Saturday and will. be
open on Monday for
Memorial Day.

Subscribe or renew your current
subscription for 1 year at M47.50+tax and
add another friend or family member
FREE. That's 2 subscriptions delivered
to 2 different addresses for the price of
just one.

Special to the News-Sun
AVON PARK - The home
of Robert Talley and Judy
McCarter on South Verona
Avenue was the recent scene
of a new fence installation,
compliments of Rebuilding
Together Highlands County
Inc.
Talley is a blind person
who is cared for by McCarter.
Larry Talley, Talley's brother,
donated a portion of the fenc-

Florida Medal of
Honor recipient
honored by
newest Florida VA
Nursing Home
Special to the News-Sun
ST. AUGUSTINE - One
of the Florida recipients of
the Medal of Honor recog-
nized in the Highlands
County Medal of Honor Park
near the Veteran Services
Office will also be honored
by having a Florida State VA
nursing home to be named for
him. The nursing home will
be at 4650 State Route 16, St.
Augustine, FL 32092. The
groundbreaking ceremony is
planned for 10 a.m. Saturday,
June 28, in St. Johns County.
LeRoy Collins Jr.
announced to the Florida
Cabinet on May 13 that the
newest state veterans' nursing
home will bear the name of
Medal of Honor recipient
Clyde E. Lassen.
The Clyde E. Lassen State
Veterans' Nursing Home, a
120-bed skilled nursing facil-
ity, will be the first Florida
veterans' home to be named
after a U.S. Navy veteran. It
is considered by many to be
an appropriate naming, as
there are two large naval
installations nearby, and
many of Lassen's family are
still in the area.
S Clyde E. Lassen was
awarded the Medal of Honor
for his heroic actions on June
19, 1968, in the Republic of
Vietnam. Lassen, United
States Navy, was a pilot of a
search and rescue helicopter
attached to the Helicopter
Support Squadron 7, during
operations against enemy
forces in 'North Vietnam.
Despite enemy fire, limited
visibility, rugged terrain and
several ineffective landings,
Lassen successfully rescued
two downed aviators. While
en route to the USS Jouett, he
encountered and evaded addi-
tional hostile anti-aircraft
fire. With a severely damaged
aircraft, and only a few min-
utes of flight fuel remaining,
he was able to safely land
aboard the USS Jouett.
Lassen, born in Fort Myers,
entered the service from
Jacksonville.
The Florida Department of
Veterans' Affairs is a state
agency responsible for assist-
ing, without charge to the
claimant, Florida's veterans,
their families and survivors in
improving their health and
ecc'nomic well-being through
quality benefit information,
advocacy, education and
long-term health services.
The FDVA operates five
veterans' nursing homes and
one assisted living facility
through the State Veterans'
Homes Program. For more
information on veterans
homes in Florida, contact the
Highlands County Veteran
Services Office, 402-6623, or
visit the FDVA Web site,
www.Florida Vets.org.

ing. Assisting in the installa-
tion were volunteers
Sebastian Hernandez, Bruno
Litwinski and Paul Devlin,
president of Rebuilding
Together's local affiliate.
Following the pouring of
concrete for the stanchions,
the actual -fencing is being
completed, by volunteers from
The Youth Academy at Care
Lane.
Devlin said, "This is anoth-

er in a long list of Rebuilding
Together projects in the years
2007 and 2008 made possible
by volunteers of all ages, and
from all parts of our county. It
is heart warming to see a
smile on the face of a man
like Mr. Talley who requires
the help of his fellow citizens
to live comfortably."
Rebuilding Together is the
nation's largest volunteer
home rehabilitation organiza-

tion dedicated to keeping the
homes of needy people safe,
dry and comfortable. In
Highlands County alone it has
served the needs of low
income, disabled and elderly
persons with a variety of such
upgrades as roofing, painting
and wheelchair ramps.
For more information, or to
volunteer your services, con-
tact rthc@strato.net or call
402-6909.

The Community Calendar pro-
vides a brief listing of local
clubs and organizations who
meet on a regular basis. It is
the responsibility of the group
to update the News-Sun on any
changes in this listing by calling
385-6155, ext. 516; send any
changes by e-mail to
editor@newssun.com; or mail
them to News-Sun Community
Calendar, 2227 U.S. 27 South,
Sebring, FL 33870.

MONDAY
* Alcoholics Anonymous
meeting, 8-9 p.m. at Episcopal
Church, Lakeshore Drive,
Sebring. For more details, call
385-8807.
* Alcoholics Anonymous
One Day At A Time group
meets for a closed discussion

6540.
* Highlands Delta Chorale
rehearses 7 p.m., Sebring'
Church of the Brethren, 700 S.
Pine St., Sebring (September
through May). No auditions are
required to join and all ages are
welcome. For details or to book
a concert, call Cheryl Cometta
at 699-2663.
* Highlands Sertoma Club
meets noon, Takis Family
Restaurant, Sebring.
* Lake Placid American
Legion Post 25 meets 8 p.m.,
Legion hall.
* Lake Placid Elks 2661
opens its lounge from 2-9 p.m.
at the lodge. Euchre is at 1
p.m. Ladies crafts is at 2 p.m.
Burgers and wings served from
5-7 p.m. Live music is from 4-7
p.m. Darts is at 7 p.m. with sign
up at 6:30 p.m. It is open to
members and their guests. For
details, call 465-2661.
* Lake Placid Library has sto-
rytime at 10 a.m. for ages 3-5
except during holidays.
* Lake Placid Moose plays
cards at 2 p.m. Open to mem-
bers and qualified guests only.
Lodge closes at 6 p.m.
* Let It Begin With Me
Alanon Group meets from
10:30 a.m. to noon every
Monday at Heartland Christian
Church, 2705 Alt. 27 South,
Sebring. For details about
Alanon, a self-help group for
families and friends of alco-
holics, call 385-5714.
* National Association for
the Advancement of the
Colored People, Highlands
County Branch meets 7:30
p.m., 401 Tulane, Avon Park.
* Orchid Society of
Highlands County meets 7
p.m. on the fourth Monday at
the Highlands County Agri-Civic
Center, 4509 George Blvd.,
Sebring. Call Ed Fabik at 465-
2830 for details.
* Placid Lakes Bridge Club
meets 12-4:30 p.m. second and
fourth Monday in Placid Lakes
Town Hall, 2010 Placid Lakes
Blvd. No meetings from end of
May to October. For details,
call 465-4888.
* Rotary Club of Highlands
County meets at 6:15 p.m. For
details, call Darrell Peer at 385-
0107.
* Sebring AARP mebts 1:30
p:m., The Palms, Pine Street,
Sebring.
* Sebring Eagles Club 4240

Troop 156 meets from 7-8:30
p.m. in the Scout Lodge, 202
Robert Britt St., Avon Park.
Boys ages 11-17 are eligible to
join. For details, call 452-2385.
* Avon Park Library has sto-
rytime at 10 a.m. for ages 3-5
except during holidays.
* Beta Sigma Phi, Xi Nu
Sigma Chapter of Avon Park,
meets the second and fourth
Tuesday each month in the
.members home. Call President
Miriam Rice at 453-7432.
* Busy Bee Craft Club meets
9-11 a.m., Fairway Pines, Sun
'N Lakes Boulevard, Sebring.
Everyone is welcome. For more
details, call 382-8431.
* Buttonwood Bay Squares
has a square dance plus work-
shop from 3-4:30 p.m. at
Buttonwood Bay Mobile Home
Park Recreation Hall, 10001
U.S. 27 South, Sebring. Caller
is Joy Teagle. Call Richard and
Ann Smith at 273-0049.
* Celebrate Recovery meets
every Tuesday night at "The
Rock," Union Congregational
Church, 28 N. Butler Ave., Avon
Park. A barbecue meal is
served at 6 p.m. for a donation.
At 6:45 p.m., members meet.
At 7:30 p.m., the group breaks
up into small groups for men
and women. The program is
designed for drug and alcohol
addiction, divorce, death or ill-
ness grief, low or lost self-
esteem or identity due to dys-
functional relationships, depres-
sion/anxiety, or any other need
for healing. Call 453-3345, ext.
106.
* Fletcher Music Club meets
every Thursday and Tuesday at
Fletcher Music Center in
Lakeshore Mall, Sebring. For
more details, call 385-3288.
*. Heartland Avian Society
meets at 7:30 p.m. fourth
Tuesday at SunTrust Bank, 126
W. Center Ave., Sebring.
Society sponsors a yearly bird
show in January. Periodic semi-
nars are offered featuring guest
speakers. Funds raised are
used to support scientific
research benefitting birds and
further education for veterinari-
an students. For more details,
call Maxine June at.465-9358
or Lisa Greene at 465-5558.
P � The Heartland Harmonizers
barbershopp Chorus meets
from-7-9 p.m. in the Sebring
High School Chorus Room,
Sebring. All men who enjoy

singing are invited.
* Heartland Symphony
Orchestra rehearsals
Tuesday 5-7 p.m. in Room 34
of Avon Park SFCC auditorium.
New members welcome. Call
638-7231.
* Highlands County Quilt
Guild meets first and third
Tuesday, St. Agnes Episcopal
Church, Sebring. Call Lynn
Ullinn for meeting times at 314-
0557 or e-mail
luckyduck@mymailstation.com.
* Hope Hospice grief support
group meets at 4:30 p.m. at
Southern Lifestyle ALF, across
U.S. 27 from Florida Hospital
Lake Placid.
* Knights of Columbus
Council 5441 ,meets 8 p.m.
every second and fourth
Tuesday at Knights of
Columbus Hall, 900 U.S. 27 N.,
Sebring. Call 385-0987.
* Lake Placid Elks 2661
opens its lounge from 2-9 p.m.
at the lodge. Happy hour is
from 2-5 p.m. It meets at 8 p.m.
second and fourth Tuesdays.
The ladies board meeting is at
7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday. The
lodge is open to members and
their guests. Call 465-2661.
* Lake Placid Jaycees meets
7:30 p.m., Jaxson's. Board
meeting, 6:30 p.m. Call Joe
Collins, 655-5545, for details.
* Lake Placid Lions Club.
meets 7 p.m. second and
fourth Tuesday at Beef
O'Brady's in the Winn Dixie
shopping plaza in Lake Placid.
Call Jeanne Parzygnat at 699-
0743 or 441-1207.
* Lake Placid Women of the
Moose has a business meeting
at 7:30 p.m. the fourth Tuesday
at the lodge.
* Lorida Community Club
meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the
Lorida Community Center to
plan events.
* Masonic Lodge meets 8
p.m., 106 N. Main St., Lake
Placid.
* Nar-Anon Support Group
for family members or friends
of someone with a drug prob-
lem or addiction. Nar-Anon
helps attain serenity and a
more normal life for those
affected by the addictions of
loved ones, regardless of
whether or not he/she has
stopped using. 6 p.m. every
Tuesday at First Baptist Chuch
of Lake Josephine, 111 Lake
Josephine Drive, Sebring.

Scott Funeral Home

Serving Families of All Faiths in
Highlands County for 46 Years!

* New Community room for the gathering of family and friends
with Kitchen & Dining Facilities available.
* Newly decorated informal chapel, seats 130.
* New Selection Room tastefully showcases the options available.
* Offering convenient ample onsite parking.
We invite you to visit our Newly renovated Funeral Home
where all of your funeral, cremation or shipping needs can be
arranged with the convenience of one visit.

We're dedicated to your complete
satisfaction. That's why, if you're not happy with your
Destiny Hearing Aid, you can return it within 30 days
no questions asked. Call for an appointment today
to see if a Destiny Hearing Aid is right for you.

The flags will be flying.
The air will be hinting at
summer ... while air-condi-
tioned stores having special
sales tempt us. Families and,
friends will fire up barbecue
grills, kick back and relax.
That's what we're sup-
posed to do on Memorial
Day weekend. Right?
Sure. Fly those flags.
Think about summer just
around the corner. Take
advantage of a special deal
on something you need or
have been saving for. And
enjoy some time away from
busy-ness to be with family
and friends around a good
old-fashioned barbecue.
So, then, what seems to
be the problem?
Perhaps it's a bit of mem-
ory loss. Not a 'senior
moment.' Rather, the kind
that obscures what this day
is all about in the first
place.
It is a day for remember-
ing.
Throughout all the wars,
many in our armed forces
paid the ultimate price for
our freedom. Those who
gave their lives should be
remembered.
I am blessed to still have
my dad with me. He is a
Pearl Harbor survivor. But
he has never forgotten what
he saw and experienced;
and, the many that didn't
live to tell about it. His
scrapbook of those days
tells a story of those he will
always remember.
Sept. 11, 2001 is the clos-
est we have come to under-
standing such devastation.
And I pray that we will
remember for. the sake of
those lost to us, and affect
the decisions we'll make
when we vote.
When we don't remem-
ber, our perspective changes
and we have a tendency to
go about our lives like noth-
ing ever happened. This is
dangerous because it makes
us vulnerable all dyver again.
So, in our celebrating,
will we remember?
The same is true spiritu-
ally.
God reached out to us by
sending his Son to die and
offer his free gift of salva-
tion. Think about it; but
then connect mind and heart
. to respond and receive that
gift personally. Stay close
to the Lord through the
Bible, prayer and Christian
fellowship. Grow in faith
by daily applying godly
principles to every decision.
If we don't deliberately
choose to mature in our
faith, memory loss may
occur. That is, we may
begin to take for granted the
high cost Jesus Christ paid
for our freedom from sin's
consequences - causing us
to become vulnerable to
Satan's attacks.
That is why during the
last Passover meal Jesus
shared with his disciples, he
introduced a new covenant
that would memorialize his
death. And he told them in
Luke 22: 19b,NIV,
"Do this in remembrance
of me."
Will we remember?
Selah

Special to the News-Sun
SEBRING - During serv-
ices today at First Baptist
Church, James "Jay" McCall
will be presented one of the
highest honors granted from
an academic institution.
It will be the second time
he will receive the Honorary
Doctorate of Christian
Letters. Today's ceremony
will be a re-enactment of last
week's presentation made
during the spring 2008 gradu-
ation ceremony at The Baptist
College of Florida in
Graceville.
McCall is pastor emeritus
at First Baptist Church and a
BCF alumni.
Peter L. Chamberlain, pres-
ident of B. R. Chamberlain &
Sons Inc., also received an
and Honorary Doctorate of
Christian Letters from the
college.
According to BCF
President Thomas A.
Kinchen, McCall is his ideal
image of a Baptist -preacher
and pastor. "He has the heart
of a kind pastor, the fervor of
an ardent evangelist, and the
mind of a keen student of the
word of our Lord," Kinchen'
said.

The News-Sun � www.newssun.com

mi iw

Kinchen told BCF gradu-
ates how "McCall is the very
finest example of what an
alum of The Baptist College
of Florida should be. My
fondest wish would be that
each of the graduates of The
Baptist College of Florida
would serve our Lord with the
boldness, grace and dignity
displayed by Jay McCall."
McCall was caught off
guard a month ago when he
received a phone call from
Kinchen informing him of the
college's decision to present
him with this honor. "It really
surprised me. I had no idea
that this was going to happen.
I am humbled by it and hon-
ored by it. I am really flat-
tered," he said.
McCall has been at the
local congregation for the
past 25 years. Having the
presentation re-enacted in
front of friends and family is
quite meaningful to him. "I
think people will really enjoy
it and enjoy being a part of
it," he said.
Kinchen was the keynote
speaker for last week's gradu-
ation ceremony where 64 stu-
dents received degrees in the
college's Assembly Center,

on iTunes
Special to the News-Sun
Sebring's Creagen Dow,
17, who plays Jeremiah
Trottman on the teen comedy
series Zoey 101, continues to
show his artistic ability by
branching into the music
industry, release
Dow, who plays guitar and months.
writes music and lyrics, has On ar
just released his debut CD ture fi
"My Inner Self." The alterna- These,"
tive/rock songs, produced by tion ahd
Sneaky Panda Productions, 20th C
are receiving worldwide Angeles
acclaim and are available for plays P
purchase on iTunes.com. boys al
Dow is currently working who try
on his second CD, "Life opened ti
Lessons," which will be disappe,

Creagan Dow

d in the next few

n acting note, his fea-
lm, "The Least of
has finished produc-
will be premiering at
century Fox in Los
s on Thursday. Dow
trickc, one of four
t a boarding school
to find out what hap-
o a former priest who
ared.

Florida Hospital says 'thank

you' during National EMS Week

Special to the News-Sun
AVON *PARK - Florida
Hospital Heartland Division
celebrates the exceptional
service that EMS provides to
countless patients every day,
often under incredibly chal-
lenging circumstances.
EMS staff members are
dedicated to saving lives and
limiting suffering, even if that
requires personal sacrifice

and risk. They are selfless
professionals who put their
own life on hold, day after
day, to respond to the emer-
gency needs of others.
Florida Hospital Heartland
Division salutes their partners
in healthcare with gifts of
freshly-baked cookies and
special-edition CD cases as a
"thank you."

Special to the News-Sun
Memorial Day weekend is a
call to the coast for boating,
beach parties and water sports,
but it also can mean disaster
for Florida's beach-nesting
seabirds.
To help people enjoy the
holiday and avoid disturbing
nesting beach-nesting birds
and their young, the Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conser-
vation Commission, Florida
Department of Environmental
, Protection andZAUdubon of
- j.,rJida are asking ,.people to
abide by posted nesting areas.
"State and local agencies,
along with many conservation
groups, have made significant
efforts to identify and clearly
mark these areas to help pro-
tect beach-nesting wildlife

during critical nesting peri-
ods," said DEP Secretary
Michael Sole. "These nesting
areas are vital to the birds' sur-
vival, so we are asking resi-'
dents and visitors to keep an
eye out for signs or roped-off
areas while enjoying Florida's
sandy beaches."
The crush of people drawn
to Florida's coasts for the hol-
iday can be disastrous for
beach-nesting birds whose
nests are little more than small
scrapes in the sand. Human
disturbance flushes them off
their nests, leaving their eggs
to cook in the hot sun in mere
minutes.
"Most people think a moth-
er bird is incubating her eggs
to keep them warm," said Ann
Hodgson, Florida Coastal

Islands Sanctuaries Manager.
"With Florida's beach-nesting
birds, the parent is actually
providing shade to eggs and
chicks during the day. A single
significant disturbance can
destroy an entire colony."
"It's not that people don't
care, it's that the eggs, nests
and babies of these birds are
really hard to see until it's too
late," said Nancy Douglass,
* Regional Nongame Wildlife
Biologist for the FWC. "The
posted areas let people know
where these 1 Jnerable nuis-
eries" are. By walking a few
yards out of your way to avoid
disrupting these families, you
can help to insure successful
nesting and future generations
of beach-nesting wildlife."
These roped-off areas pro-

teet areas where a single dis-
turbance can affect hundreds
or thousands of birds and their
nests and only during this crit-
ical netting period.
In , .ces where beach driv-
ing is allowed, take extra care
to be aware of birds on the
beach. Drivers who move
faster than a pedestrian and are
isolated by their vehicles from
the sights and sounds of the
beach are more likely to over-
look birds. Furt-hermore,
chicks sometimes take shelter
in the depression of tire tracks.

Corinthians 1:26-29. "For
. -ou see your calling,
" - brethren, that not many
Sp -/ wise according to the flesh.
' not many mighty, not many
noble, are called. But God
has chosen the foolish
.i ngs of the world to put to shame, the
"ise, and God has chosen the weak things
of the world to put to shame the things
which are mighty; and the base things of
the world and things which are despised
God has chosen, and the things which are
not, to bring to nothing the things that are.
that no flesh should glory in His presence."
Here if you notice, God's plan of salvation
does not conform to the world's priorities.
Our salvation is mnfe.yaluable than all the
wealth and success. -.ttsued by the worldd .
Remember, God ts1- \vhat is considered
foolish in this wor lf Wreveal His truth so
that He alone \%ill, ei\xe the glory. The
last verse says no 1 ;es should glory in His
presence. Be Blessed!

Courtesy photo
Sebring's James McCall (left) was presented an Honorary
Doctorate of Christian Letters during a ceremony last week
at the Baptist College of Florida in Graceville. With McCall is
BCF President Thomas A. Kinchen, who will be in Sebring
today, to re-enact the ceremony for the congregation at First
Baptist Church, where McCall is pastor emeritus.

making it one of the largest
graduating classes in BCF's
history.
Graduates received diplo-
mas in various areas of study
to include Associate of
Divinity, Associate of Arts in
Music, Bachelor of Arts in
Biblical Studies, Christian

4B * Sunday, May 25, 2008

SHS students participate in shower head project

"Do you think it's impor-
tant to conserve water only in
a drought?"
That was one of the ques-
tions asked of Jill Scott's
11llth-grade Earth/Space
Science students. It was good
to hear some of the students
say no, that we need to con-
serve water all of the time.
On May 1, Erin McCarta,
Lakes Management assistant
and I visited Sebring High
School. They spoke to the
students about the low-flow
shower heads that they have
been giving away to local res-
idents in an effort to conserve
water in our county. The stu-
dents were instructed to take
the old shower heads that res-
idents exchanged for the new
low-flows, and see how many
gallons per minute they pro-
duced.
During the presentation, we
instructed students how to
remove the existing shower
heads from their home show-
ers and replace them with the
ones handed out at the demon-

station for testing
purposes. Bags that
were supplied by
Southwest Florida
Water Management,
designed to measure
water usage, were
given to each stu-
dent along with one
of the exchanged
shower heads.
Students will take
the bags and shower
heads home and
measure their water

News
From The
Watershed

Corine Burgess

usage and report back to their
teacher, Ms. Scott.
The experiment will show
students how much more
water is used by the older
model of shower heads.
During the demonstration
some of the shower heads that
we received as trade-ins used
as much as 4 1/2 gallons per
minute. The low-flow shower
heads use only about 2 gal-
lons per minute.
Once the experiment is
concluded, students will have
the opportunity to take home
the new low-flow shower

heads and install
them in their homes.
These new low-flow
shower heads were
purchased with funds
from an educational
grant from the
Southwest Florida
Water Management
District.
Showering is one
of the top uses of res-"
idential water in the
United States, repre-
senting approximate-

ly 17 percent of indoor water
use - more than 1.2 trillion
gallons of water each year.
By timing your shower to
less than five minutes and
installing low-flow shower
heads, you can save up to 690
gallons of water per month.
And because a large portion
of water used for showering
goes through your hot water
heater, low-flow can save on
your electric bill. That's a lot
of savings!
There are so many ways we
can save water all year long.

But especially now, with the
drought conditions we are
facing, it is critical that we do
what we can to conserve this
precious resource.
According to Florida
Division of Emergency
Management, "Florida has
entered into a second year of
drought conditions, as
statewide average rainfall"'
deficits during 2006-07 were
the largest observed since the
mid 1950's. According to the
National Drought Monitor,
approximately 20 percent of
Florida is experiencing severe
to extreme drought conditions
as of Jan. 1, 2008. The
drought has been most pro-
nounced in southwest Florida
and the Kissimmee River
watershed. As a result, the
average elevation of Lake
Okeechobee has remained at
or near daily record low levels
since last spring and is cur-
rently more than 4 feet below
the historical average eleva-
tion for mid-January.
Streamflows are below nor-
mal across much of Florida.

Moderate La Nina conditions
in the equatorial Pacific are
expected to intensify the
drought in Florida during the
winter and spring months.
The recent freeze in central
Florida has increased the
wildfire threat since signifi-
cant rainfall has been con-
fined to the Florida panhandle
counties during the past
month."
The situation sounds grim,
but we can all make a differ-

ence when it comes to con-
serving and protecting our
natural resources. It is the
hope of the Highlands Soil
and Water Conservation
District that everyone, but
especially today's youth will
learn to be good stewards of
our natural resources.

Corine Burgess is a Natural
Resources specialist with
Highlands Soil and Water
Conservation District.

PLACES to

ORSHIP

Places to Worship is a paid
advertisement in the News-Sun
that is published Friday and
Sunday. To find out more infor-
mation on how to place a listing
in this directory, call the News-
Sun at 385-6155, 465-0426 or 452-
1009, ext. 502.

* Christian Science Church, 146
N. Franklin St. Sunday: 10:30 a.m.
Morning Worship and Sunday
School. Testimonial meetings at 5
p.m. each second and fourth
Wednesday. A free public Reading
Room, located at the church, is
open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday. The Bible
and the Christian Science textbook,
"Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy are
our only preachers. All are welcome
to come and partake of the comfort,
guidance, support and healing
found in the lesson-sermons.

* Church of the Nazarene of
Sebring, 420 Pine St., Sebring.
Sunday: Sunday School begins at
9:45 a.m. for all ages; Morning
Worship at 10:45 a.m.; Service at 6
p.m. Wednesday evening service at
7 p.m. with special services for chil-
dren, youth and adults. Special
services once a month for seniors
(Prime Timers), and young adults
and families. Call for details at 385-
0400. Pastor Emmett Garrison.
* First Church of the Nazarene of
Avon Park, P.O. Box 1118., Avon
Park, FL 33825-1118. Randall
Rupert, Pastor. Sunday: Sunday
school begins at 9:45 a.m. for all
ages; morning worship at 10:45
a.m.; and evening service at 6 p.m.
Wednesday evening service is at 7
p.m. with special services for chil-
dren and adults. Special services
once a month for seniors (Prime
Time) and Ladies ministries. If you
need any more information, call
453-4851.
* First Church of the Nazarene of
Lake Placid, 512 W. Interlake Blvd.,
Lake Placid, FL 33852. Sunday
school, 9:30 a.m.; Morning worship,
10:45 a.m.; Evening service, 6 p.m.
Wednesday evening, 7 p.m.
Classes for adult children and
youth. Call 465-6916. Pastor Tim
Taylor.

Aries (March 21-April 20) - Aries,
when offered a choice go for the very
best. There is no use skimping on the
things you really want. You're invincible
this week so make your mark at work.
Taurus (April 21-May 21) - Taurus,
the hardest worker is dften the one who
is least recognized. Don't get discour-
aged by those who hog the spotlight.
Higher-ups know how reliable and effi-
cient you are.
Gemini (May 22-June 21) - If you
want results, Gemini, you know exactly
where to get them. You have a large and
effective network of influential people.
Spread your wealth and help others.
Cancer (June 22-July 22) - Cancer,
the good times seem to be over but
they're not. Don't be overly dramatic.
The situation feels much worse than it
really is. Financial stability arrives on
Tuesday.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 23) - Leo, you
see the goodness and potential in every-
one, which is making your role as man-
ager more difficult. You'll need to decide
who is doing the best job and deserves
advancement.

HOROscOPE

Virgo (Aug. 24-Sept. 22) - A sur-
prise will shake things up this week,
Virgo. Keep an open mind about the sit-
uation rather than sinking into negative
thinking. Romance is put on hold.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) - Libra,
when an important project pops up mid-
week all you can do is your best. Keep
your eyes on the goal and don't let
nerves get the best of you or it could
mean trouble.
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) - Scorpio,
put your complex brain to use instead of
dreaming the day away. You have so
much to do and watching the clouds go
by won't Help. Seek out Taurus for help.
Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -
Sagittarius, your life gets stirred into a
romantic whirl. Romance and enjoyment
is your top priority, as all other responsi-
bilities take a backseat. Enjoy these
moments while they last.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) -

Withdraw from the public eye to handle a
personal problem this week, Capricorn.
Family concerns may be a problem for
you if you're putting too much emphasis
on work.
Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 18) -
Yesterday's concerns are far behind you
this week, Aquarius. You are now march-
ing to the beat of different drummer with
a livelier step.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) - Pisces,
simple pleasures help you to relax this
week when the stress is high. Everyone is
looking to you for answers.

* Temple Israel of Highlands
County, 1305 Temple Israel Drive,
Sebring, FL 33870. Shabbat servic-
es held on first and third Friday at
7:30 p.m. All are welcome Women's
lunch brunch meets on the fourth

Tuesday of every month at different
restaurants. Torah Commentary at
3:30 p.m. every Thursday. Adult
educational movies at 2 p.m. every
second Sunday. Open to the public.
Havdalah services and dinner are
held monthly at member's homes.
Open to members only. Summer
hours may vary. For further informa-
tion, call the Temple office at 382-
7744.

for babies and toddlers; while young
children up to second grade have a
special Children's Church offered
during the worship service to help
them grow in their spiritual knowl-
edge.
* Spring Lake Presbyterian
Church (USA), 5887 U.S. 98,
Sebring, FL 33876. Sunday School,
9 a.m.; Worship Service, 10 a.m.
Session meets at,6:30 p.m. the sec-
ond Thursday of the month,
September through June. Board of
Deacon's' meet at 5:30 p.m. first
Monday of the month. Choir
rehearses at 7 p.m. each
Wednesday, September' through
April. Presbyterian Women meet at
10 a.m. the third Thursday of the
month. Pastor: The Rev. Kathryn
Treadway. Organist: Richard Wedig.
Choir Director: Suzan Wedig.
Church phone, 655-0713; e-mail,
springlakepc@embarqmail.com,
Web site,
http://slpc.presbychurch.org.

* Emmanuel United Church of
Christ, 3115 Hope Street, Sebring,
FL 33875. Sunday worship, 9:30
a.m. Children's Christian Education,
9:30 a.m. Everyone is welcome at
Emmanuel. We are located 1.7
miles west of U.S. 27 on Hammock
Road. For more information, call the
church office at 471-1999 or e-mail
to eucc@strato.net or check our
website sebringemmanuelucc.com.

Special to the News-Sun
AVON PARK - Every
Wednesday afternoon the
library will show a free movie
for young people. The movie
will start at 1 p.m. and is for
pre-teens, a parent must
accompany all kids up to 5
years of age at all times.
Organized groups in excess of
10 kids, please call a week in
advance.

Highlands

Art League

to hold

reception for

Whitehead

By L.B. KIRKWOOD
Special to the News-Sun
SEBRING - Highlands
Art League will honor artist
Juliette Whitehead at a recep-
tion from 5-8 p.m. Thursday
at The Yellow House
Gallery/giftshop. On display
will be Whitehead's watercol-
ors, collages and mixed
media.
Little did Whitehead know
when she enrolled in college
at the age of 58 that she would
be embarking on a whole new
career. Whitehead graduated
from Southeastern
Massachusetts University,
now the University of
Massachusetts/Dartmouth, in
1989 with a bachelor of fine
arts degree in painting.
She chose art because after
spending 30 years in the busi-
ness world. As a district sales
manager for Avon Products
Inc., she wanted something
totally different from that.
She remembers that, as a
child, she liked to trace things
and then in high school, she
would sketch portraits of her
friends during study hall.
Whitehead admits, that as
a 58-year-old, college was not

Could there be more? Yes,
free popcorn.
Schedule of films:
* June 11: "The Water
Horse, Legend of the Deep:
(112-minutes, 2008). This
movie heart-warmingly satis-
fies any curiosity about the
Loch Ness monster.
* June 18: "Bee Movie"
(90 minutes, 2008). One of
the forbidden rules of "bee-

dom" is that bees should
never talk to humans. When
young worker bee Barry B.
Benson breaks that rule, un-
bee-lievable things happen.
0 June 25: "Alvin and the
Chipmunks" (91 minutes,
2007). Follow the hilarious
high-jinks of Alvin, Simon
and Theodore as the trouble-
making chipmunks try to be
superstars.

Special to the News-Sun
SEBRING - Howdy neighbor, Highlands
Little Theatre is presenting "Dearly Departed"
a hilariously funny country comedy about the
head of the family, Daddy Bud, going to meet
his maker during a family picnic.
The following local dignitaries will grace
the stage of HLT as Daddy Bud during the run
of the show, which is June .6-22.
Daddy Buds special guest appearance dates:
June 3, Christopher Tuffley, a reporter at the
News-Sun; June 6, George Hall, the deputy
mayor of Avon Park; June 7, Bill Schaffer, the
vice president of South Florida Community
College;. June 8, Dr. Michael McLeod, the
dean of Adult and Community Education at
South Florida Community College; June 10,
Bill Rettew Jr., a reporter at Highlands Today;
June 11, Sebring's Mayor George Hensley;
Junel3, Barry Foster, the news director of

Courtesy photo
Juliette Whitehead will be the honored artist at the next
reception at the Highlands Art League. The reception will be
from 5-8 p.m. Thursday.

easy for her. She remembers
thinking that "all these young
people knew more about art
than I did." Eventually, how-
ever, she found that through
her "experience of life," she
knew more than she thought
she did. Also, achieving high
grades and good critiques
from her professors helped to
raise her confidence.
While living in
Massachusetts, Whitehead
painted mainly in oils and
acrylics. She belonged to sev-
eral art societies there, includ-
ing the Bierstadt Art Society
in New Bedford, the Fall
River Art Society and the
Taunton Art Society, winning
many awards for her work.
But since moving to
Florida, first as a "snow-bird"

The News-Sun * www.newssun.com

6B * Sunday, May 25, 2008

New officers-

Highlands County Library
System Summer Reading
Program events will be as fol-
lows:

Week 1
* Scott Humston, magical
storyteller, will be at the Avon
Park Public Library at 1 p.m.
Tuesday, June 10; Lake Placid
Memorial Library at 4 p.m.
Tuesday, June 10. Funded by
Avon Park and Lake Placid
Friends of the Library.
* Elliott's Whole Wide
World of Adventure! present-
ed by The Storybook Theatre
Company will be at Sebring
Public Library (only) at 3:30
p.m. Wednesday, June 11.
Funded by Sebring Friends of
the Library.

Week 3
* Sebring Public Library
(only) at 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 25. Funded
, by the Sebring Friends of the
Library.
* Program theme: Animals
of the Cold at Avon Park
Public Library at 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 24. Lake Placid

Memorial Library at 3:30
p.m. Thursday. June 26: and
Storytime, Music. Poems and
arts and craft.

Week 4
* Highlands Hammock
State Park at Avon Park
Public Library at 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 8; Sebring
Public Library at 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 9; and at
3:30 p.m. Thursday. July 10,
at Lake Placid Library.

Cohan Radio Group: June 14, Bob Duncan,
owner of Heartland Pharmacy. Duncan is also
the sponsor for "Dearly Departed."
June 15, I-Iarry J. Miriani, father of Director
Denise .Miriani; June 17, Carl Cool, retired
Highlands County administrator; June 18, Tom
Katsanis, the mayor of Lake Placid; June 20,
Dr. Norman Stephens, president of SFCC;
June 21, Matt Delaney, editor of the Lake
Placid Journal; and June 22, Rooter Rush, a
disc jockey with Cohan Radio Group.
The box office is open at 356 W. Center
Ave. in the Altvater Cultural Center for ticket
sales from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Friday
and from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, and at the Box
Office window on performance night. Tickets
may be purchased online at www.highland-
slittletheatre.org, or by calling 382-2525 dur-
ing box office hours. Convenience and pro-
cessing fees will be applied to online and cred-
it card purchases.

in 1995 and then permanently
in September of 2005, this
Highlands Art League mem-
ber has begun working in
watercolors and collages for a
"lighter touch," and has stud-
ied with local artists Kate
Foote and Wes Siegrist. She
also finds she has begun using
"southern"- themes in her
work. While still painting
landscapes and florals, she
has incorporated more native
plants and birds into. her
work.
Whitehead's work will be
on display until June 21 at the
Yellow House Gallery/gift-
shop located at 1989
Lakeview Drive, Sebring.
Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday-Friday and 12-4 p.m.
on Saturday.

Blue Streaks make mark Saturday
I By DAN HOEHNE Saints beat out an infield hit and when the throw got away,
l- .... ~daniel.hoehne@newssun.comn and stole second before mov- Brisker and Vazquez each
SEBRING - Saturday's ing to third on Jupiter's came in to make it 4-0.
opener on the final day of the Taylor Davis' single to right. The lead went up in the
30th annual FACA Baseball Freeman soon came in on a third with Lakeland's Taylor
, , Classic at Firemen's Field had wild pitch during Markus Wrenn singling, reaching
the East squad matching up Brisker's at bat, before third on an error and coming
withthe South, a team with Brisker (Winter Haven) also in on Dalton Hicks
some top-tier talent, with the singled into right field. (Altamonte-Lake Brantley)
likes of American Heritage's singled into right field.(AtmneLk Brtly
lEric Hosf Amer who is expected's Sebring's Tony Vazquez sacrifice fly to right.
Eric Hosmer who is expectedThe South scratched for
to be a top-five pick in the worked a walk to load the their lone run iscrathe bd fortoo
-m ow _LA1.upcoming major league draft, bases and Lake Mary's Matt their loneruninthebottomof
n'..ff -But it was the East nine that Richardson reached on an the third, with Rolando
S-At jumped out to a lead in the error, scoring Davis and keep- Flanagan walking and eventu-
second inning and come out ing the bags juiced. ally scoring on a fielder's
" .. . ' " . '-- - .a l l y s c o r i n g o n a f i e l d e r ' s
with a 5-1 win. Mike Albaladejo (Winter choice.
With one out, Wesley Garden-West Orange) then
Freeman of Winter Haven All reached on a fielder's choice See FACA, page 3C
Am

Simmons was 'traded' from the East to the South team, giving him the opportunity to pitch,
and he made the most of it with three scoreless innings.Right:Sebring's Tony Vazquez goes
airborne to try to corral an errant throw from short as Miami Killian's Mike Martinzes slides
into first in Saturday's early game of the FACA All-Star Classic. Vazquez would reach twice
and score once in the East's 5-1 win over the South squad.

SFCC's Decker

selected to represent

USA against Taiwan

By ED BALDRIDGE
News-Sun correspondent
AVON PARK - South
Florida Community College
sophomore first baseman
Brandon Decker has been
selected to participate in the
June International Baseball
series in Millington, Tenn.
"I am honored to be select-
ed," said Decker. "It feels
great to be among the top 22
players in the country, and I
look forward to get a look at
Taiwan."
Decker will be one of 22
Community College players
nation wide who-will represent
the USA, and the National
Junior Collage Athletic
Association (NJCAA) in a
three game International
Series against Taiwan.
The series will be held June
20-22 in Millington at USA
Stadium formerly the home of
USA Baseball.

Decker was first team All
Southern Conference
Selection this year.,
Decker was also selected
second team All-State and
was the tenth-ranked player in
the state of Florida in
Community College baseball.
Hitting .404 and driving 68
RBI in 2007-2008 with
SFCC, Decker's 20 homers
set the school record for home
runs in a single season.
But Decker also broke
another SFCC record this
year, he was hit by pitches 27
times last season.
"It was pretty bad for the
first half of the season. I think
I got hit 20 times, it was
annoying for sure. It was like
I was a ball magnet or some-
thing, I mean I don't crowd
the plate, I just stand in the
box and don't move if the
See DECK, page 4C

News-Sun file photo by DAN HOEHNE
Brandon Decker gets congratulated by teammates after one
of his 20 home runs this past season. Decker was selected
to represent Team USA in a three-game series against
Taiwan June 20-22.

By ED BALDRIDGE
News-Sunt correspondent
LAKE PLACID -
Although Avon Park Red
Devils defeated the Green
Dragons 13-7 in the spring
match-up at Roger
Scarborough Field in Lake
Placid, the learning curve
has just begun for both
teams.
"I am very happy with the
win, and it's just great to be
in Lake Placid," said Avon
Park's Andy Bonjokian in
his d6but game as head
coach.
"We've got some momen-
tum now, and we need to
capitalize on the momentum
to take the opportunity to get
our assignments done. We
have a good grasp of the

defense, and the kids under-
stand the offense, I just tried
to go outside a bit of what
we know and are good at.
Lake Placid's defense was
tough, and we are going to
isolate more on what we
know."
And according to Tim
Grant, Lake Placid's head
coach now in his second
year, the learning will con-
tinue on both side lines.
"We got some small
things we have to work on,
our misdirect offense . is
designed so that we cannot
miss a lot of assignments,
but we missed a few, and
that is something we have to
work on. But tonight showed
that these kids are bringing
it for sure," commented

Grant.
"I feel a lot more confi-
dent this year, and after
tonight, I am pleased with
how well the guys are com-
ing along."
"Physically, Avon Park
was definitely stronger than
we were, but we held their
offense. We had some good
plays. "They surprised me,
as fast as Avon Park is, we
still held our own. Looks
like Andy is doing a great
job so far, but
our chicken wings are def-
initely doing their job up
front," added Grant.
Avon Park took the oppor-
tunity to score first when
defensive lineman Robert
Cabrera picked up and
returned a fumble in the sec-

ond quarter with just over
six minutes of play left.
"I saw the ball on the
ground, and what coach
Elder taught us just kept
going through my head,
scoop and run. It was my
first touchdown ever, and it
felt good," said Cabrera, an
upcoming junior.
But the Red Devils PAT
would go wide leaving the
score 6-0.
Lake Placid's offense
would pound one in just a
few minutes later when Zach
Campbell would barrel
across from the one, and
kicker Steven Guelff would
nail the PAT making it 7-6
Lake Placid.
After the half, Avon
See DEVILS, page 3C

Marine Benefit Golf Tournament
DAVENPORT - Florida golfers inter-
ested in helping the Marine Corps'
Wounded Warrior programs are encour-
aged to sign-up now for the United States
Marine Corps Combat Correspondents
fourth annual golf tournament at
Ridgewood Lakes Country Club in
Davenport on Friday June 6.
The annual event also benefits a schol-
arship fund for active duty, retired and
former Marines and their dependents.
This will be the inaugural tournament
at Ridgewood Lakes, located two miles
south of 1-4 on Florida Rt. 27.
Ceremonies begin at 8 a.m. with a
shotgun start slated immediately there-
after.
Four-person teams will play in a
scramble format.
The tournament is open to both male
and female golfers. Individuals are wel-
come and will be teamed by the tourna-
ment committee.
A luncheon, featuring a silent auction
and door prizes, will follow play.
An "early bird" entry fee of $65 is
available until May 13.
Following that date the fee will be $75.
The fee includes green and cart fees, free
range balls before play as well as the
luncheon.
For complete information, contact
"Red" Carpenter at 352.688.6720 or
email JCarl@ tampabay.rr.com.

SFCC Baseball Youth Camp
AVON PARK - The SFCC Panthers
are once again offering youngsters, ages
6-13, a chance to improve their baseball
skills with a four-day camp.
June 6, 7 and 9 will have the campers
going through drills and instruction from
8 a.m.-12:30 p.m., while on Sunday, June
8, there will be games, trivia, hitting
analysis, snacks and swimming pool
activities from 1-4:30 p.m.
The SFCC Panther Baseball Camps are
designed to provide quality baseball
instruction, with emphasis on the funda-
mentals and improvement in all areas of
the. game.
Each day, campers will have the oppor-
tunity to improve their skills and baseball
knowledge with the help of our qualified
staff.
SFCC Head Baseball Coach Rick Hitt
will serve as camp director. Instructors
will include Panther Assistant Coaches
Kelly Sanders, Andy Polk and Darrell
Heckman, along with high school and
college instructors.
Camp cost is $100 per camper, for
families with more than one child partici-
pating, each additional camper is $90.
To register, go to
www.southflorida.edu, and select the
baseball site. Click' on "baseball camp,"
print out Admissions Application and
Emergency Treatment Forms.
Mail Admissions Application and
Emergency Treatment Forms, as indicat-
ed on application form.
Register by phone by calling one of the
Panther Camp lines, extension 7036 -
Sebring/Avon Park, 784-7036; Lake
Placid, 465-5300; DeSoto, 494-7500;
Hardee, 773-2252.
Campers can also register the morning

of the first camp session.
Campers should bring glove, cap, bat

and any baseball attire desired as well as
a swim suit and towel.
Please mark all items with camper's
name as the camp is not responsible for
lost items.
Each camp participants will receive a
camp T-shirt.

Lady Panther Volleyball Camp
AVON PARK - The Lady Panthers of
SFCC will be hosting a summer volley-
ball camp from July 28-August 1 for girls
grade six through 12.
The five-day camp will begin with reg-
istration on Monday, July 28 - 8:30-9
a.m. for grades 6-8, 1:30-2 p.m. for
grades 9-12 - followed by drills and
instruction each day - 9 a.m.-noon grades
6-8, 2-5 p.m. for grades 9-12.
Camp cost is $100 and will be limited
to the first 30 applicants.
Register early to reserve a spot.
Applicants can go to www.southflori-
da.edu and select the volleyball site.
Click on "volleyball camp," print out
Admissions Application and Emergency
Treatment forms.
Mail the Admissions Application and
Emergency Treatment forms as indicated
on application form, or bring to the
Cashier's Office in Building B on the
SFCC Campus.
Applicants can also register by phone
by calling one of the Panther Volleyball
Camp lines at extension 7037 - Avon
Park/Sebring 863-784-7037, Lake Placid
863-465-5300, DeSoto 863-494-7500,
Hardee 863-773-2252.
Leading the camp will be SFCC head
coach Kim Crawford, who is also a for-
mer Lady Panther.
Coach Crawford is a three-time All-
American and played professionally in
Europe for two years, on the Bud Light
Professional Beach Tour for Team Nike
and on the Pro California Grass Tour.
She has been trained by many different
Olympic coaches and looks forward to
sharing her vast volleyball knowledge
with all camp participants.
The Panther Volleyball Camp will pro-
vide individual skill development and
basic tactics in a positive learning envi-
ronment.
All campers will receive individual and
team instruction from coach Crawford
and the Lady Panthers.
Coaches are encouraged to attend.
Campers are to bring shorts, T-shirts,
kneepads, gym shoes and water bottle.
Please mark all items with the
camper's name, the camp is not responsi-
ble for lost items.
Each camper will receive a camp T-
shirt.

Harder Hall Summer Golf
SEBRING - The Harder Hall Country
Club will be hosting its' summer golf
Monday night league through Aug. 25.
The format will be a two man team ,
best-ball and team points.
Check-in on each evening of play will
be at 5 p.m. with play starting at 5:30
p.m.
There is a $25 registration fee and a
weekly fee of $12, with skins and closest
to the pin being optional.
Sign up prior to the first week by call-
ing the Harder Hall pro shop at (863)
382-0500, or come by and register your
team.

UCF Fastpitch camp
. ORLANDO - University of Central
Florida Fastpitch Camp will offer the fol-
lowing camps this summer:
Residential/Day Camp: June 8-11
Offense/Defense Day Camp: June 16-
17
Pitching/Catching Day Camp: June 18-
19
For more information, contact Tracy
Coffman at (407) 823-4298 or visit us at
www.centralfloridafastpitchcamp.com.

Bowling fundraiser
SEBRING - Tyler Shingle of the Kegel
Bowling Center's Junior Academy quali-
fied number one in the State Pepsi
Tournament.
Kegel will host a fundraiser June 21,
7-9:30 p.m., to help send Shingle and his
family to the National Tournament in
Detroit.
The cost of $15 includes three games
of bowling and free shoe rental.
All bowlers must have a sponsor sheet,
with the top three money makers being
awarded special prizes - first place wins
a'brand new Kegel Spare Ball, second
place a customized Kegel satin jacket and
third a Kegel practice pass for 50 free

games of bowling.
Call Kegel at 382-2643 for more infor-
mation.

HISTORY LESSON

20 YEARS AGO
May 21, 1988: Lead by Opa-Locka Pace ace Alex Fernandez, the South routed the North, 12-2, in
the North-South All-Star Series at Head Field in Avon Park. Fernandez pitched two scoreless innings and
belted a two-run double off the left-center field fence. Red Devil Clyde Pough played five innings at short-
stop for the North squad and went 1-2 at the plate with an infield hit. The South, with the help of
Fernandez double, built a 12-0 lead before the North could scratch for two in the seventh.The South took
the first game of the series as well the day before with a 5-2 win.

Thursday's Game
San Jose 2, Houston 1
Saturday's Games
New England at Columbus, late
Toronto FC at D.C. United, late
Real Salt Lake at FQ Dallas, late
CD Chivas USA at Colorado, late
Kansas City at Los Angeles, late
Sunday's Game
Chicago at New York, 3 p.m.
Thursday, May 29
D.C. United at New England, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 31
Los Angeles at Toronto FC, 3:30 p.m.
New York at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
San Jose at Real Salt Lake, 9 p.m.
Columbus at CD Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m.
WNBA

DEVILS
Continued from 1C
Park's defense would pickup
another fumble, this time
Steven Johnson would scoop
one up at the forty and rush in
for a TD.
Avon Park's Josue Garcia
would tap in the PAT making

the score 13-7 Avon Park.
The last part of the game
turned into a defensive grind,
Lake Placid seemed to make
some large gains using
Navahri Holden, Caleb Jones,
Alex Gort and Anothony
Gonzalez and the depth of
their backfield effectively, but
neither team could really
press the issue hard enough to
score again.

FACA
Continued from 1C
The score would remain
there for the remainder of the
ten full innings, with the help
of a Sebring player helping
the South team.
In a twist, between Friday
and Saturday, Blue Streak
Adam Simmons was 'traded'
from the East to the South
squad in order to give him a
chance to work from the
mound.
After taking a few innings
for the East at third Friday
night, Simmons toed the rub-
ber for the South Saturday,
holding his former teammates
scoreless for three innings.
From the seventh through
the ninth, Simmons allowed
just two hits, one a seeing-eye
grounder, while striking out
two and walking none.
"I was hitting my spots well
today and my fastball was
on," Simmons said. "It felt
really different. It was on my
home field but it felt much
different than I thought it
would. It felt different, but it
felt really good."
Vazquez, who had only. one
at-bat Friday night, got the
start at first Saturday and
reached twice while scoring
once.
"It was an honor to play
with the best in the state,"
Vazquez said. "It felt real
comfortable to be playing
here at home, this is one of
the best fields in Florida.
Realizing the company he
was a part of over the two
days, Vazquez' mindset for
the future was even more
determined.
"I'm heading off to college
and will work my tail off," he
said. "Hopefully in two years
someone will come look at
me."
In Friday's nightcap, both
the East and West teams were
held to one hit through the first
five innings before the East
broke through in the sixth.
Three straight singles by

'It was an honor
to play with the
best in the state.'

TONY VAZQUEZ
Chris Matulis (Lake Worth-
Park Vista), Bryan Brown
(Winter Springs) and Wrenn
put the East up 1-0.
But though they didn't add
to their hit total, the West tied
it right back up on the legs of
Tampa Sickles' Kenny
Wilson.
The speedy Wilson walked
to start the frame, stole sec-
ond, moved to third on a fly to
center and came in on a wild
pitch.
The West threatened again
in the seventh with Tampa-
Middleton's Jamie Mallard
hitting one off the wall in
right center for a double, and
the squads first hit since the
opening inning.
But Dalton Hicks worked
out of it, surrendering a one-
out walk, but striking out the
side.
Single runs did come in for
the West in the eighth and
ninth innings, on a Sean
Buckley (Tampa-King) RBI
single in eighth and with
Jacob Rogers (Dunedin) bat-
ting in Riverdales' Ryan
McChesney in the ninth.
And while the game essen-
tially ended after the East
failed to at least tie it up in the
tenth, the Classic calls for a
full ten innings to showcase
as much of the talent present
as possible - leading to two
more runs to provide for the
final 5-1 margin.
In the Classic opener, the
North and South teams traded
runs in the first, but it was a
three-run fifth that carried the
North to a 6-3 win.
Highlighting the three-run
rally were back-to-back home
runs, with Cameron Graves of
Wakulla High School rocket-
ing a two-run blast to right
and Josh McDorman of
Niceville High School follow-

News-Sun photos by DAN HOEHNE
Above: American Heritage's Eric Hosmer, a likely top-five
draft pick, watches this deep fly ball in Saturday's action that
would be caught, but move a runner up. Below: Although
the talent level was high, it didn't mean the pitching had top
control, as Sarasota's Casey Kelly, another top prospect,
found out in getting hit by this pitch Friday night.

ing with a launch to left.
The results from Saturday's
final match-up between the
North and West squads was
not available at press time.
But, however the final
game turned out, it was anoth-
er great baseball weekend in
Sebring for the best of the
best in the state of Florida,
where players with the
dreams of making it big got
another shot to show their
stuff, and to both bask and
revel in the knowledge of the
company they were in.

Does Medicare recognize vestibular/fall and balance therapy?
YES! Not only do they recognize it, they welcome it as an ongoing movement toward the
reduction and prevention of hip fractures and the resulting mortality and morbidity

To help determine if you may be headed for a fall, take the Balance Self Test
below. If you answer 'yes' to one or more of the questions, you could be at
risk. The best way to determine if you have a problem, however, is to talk
with your physician who might recommend that you get a balance
screening test from a qualified clinician.
* Have you fallen more than once in the past year?
* Do you take medicine for two or more of the following diseases:
heart disease, hypertension, arthritis, anxiety or depression?
* Do you feel dizzy or unsteady if you make a sudden changes
in movement, such as bending down or quickly turning.
* Have you experienced a stroke or other neurological
S problem that has affected your balance?
* Do you have difficulty sitting down or rising
from a seated or lying position?

I - ~--- ------- - --- ------- ---- -

4C * Sunday, May 25, 2008

THE VIDEO GAME PAGE
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* *

Video game may cause Wiinjuries but can be Wiinspiring

Gamers turn jock?
I will admit, I was a jock
turned gamer, which probably
has been part of the reason
I've been both in and out of
shape over the years since
my playing days.
By gamer, I mean a video
game junkie who could sit
for hours and have little more
fitness activity than rapidly
thrusting my thumbs on my
controller - which actually
could have lead to a career
on the professional thumb-
wrestling tour.
But I've always thought
that staying in shape can be
quite difficult for ex-athletes.
Being on teams in high
school, for instance, when
school is done, you go to
practice and do all the things
that you did in practice.

And Another
Thing...
Dan Hoehne
It was the routine, the'
norm, the daily ritual that
you just did by wrote.
Once you stop, graduate, or
reach the end of the line
where your abilities can take
you, unless.you are one that
just naturally keeps up the
routine in a different arena,

that daily ritual is lost and the
pounds eventually pack on.
And perhaps it's the com-
petitive nature that brings
some to video games, notably
the sports related ones.
Sure, you could get your
blood flowing through the
angst and frustration of play-
ing the old Sega NHL
Hockey game or Madden
Football games, but that is a
rising blood pressure rather
than actually getting it flow-
ing aerobically.
But with advances in tech-
nology a'nd the introduction
of the Wii console a year and
a half ago, the former com-
petitive athlete has an outlet
that can actually help get
them moving again.
I bought the basic Wii
Sport about a month ago, and

I can honestly say I have
never sweated as much play-
ing video games.
Sure, I think I tweaked a
gluteal muscle while 'bowl-
ing,' my first Wii injury (or
Wiinjury) but it's kind of
neat to not just play a video
game, but play a video game.
One night I tried out the
boxing game and got so into
it, suddenly it was 2 a.m. and
I had to wring out my T-shirt
it was so soaked with sweat.
The system also has what
are called 'training' games,
from target practice for golf,
trying to chip it as close to
the hole as you can, to
knocking a heavy bag off it's
support in boxing, to trying
to knock down up to 91 pins
at a time in bowling.
There is also tennis and

baseball, which includes a
home run derby training
game - certainly enough to
keep me from just sitting in
front of the TV and channel
surfing on an off-night.
And now. Wii has appar-
ently come out with a 'Fit'
program, that will be hitting
the stores this week.
It includes a 'balance
board' which also weighs you
and helps determine your fit-
ness level, and the program
disc which includes 40 differ-
ent activities, ranging from
aerobics, balance and yoga to
strength training.
It's not necessarily giving
you a fitness routine. but a
smorgasbord of things to do to
keep you moving and engaged.
Hula hooping, ski jumping,
snowboarding. dancing - sure

sounds like a blast to me.
In a way, it's almost like
they're training you to get in
shape to play their other
sports games - which would
be good so I don't get any
more Wiinjuries.
But whatever the intent, it
definitely has my interest as
it takes the often tiring
thought of 'working out' and
adds a game element to it.
Technology in the gaming
world initially got us sitting
down and developing little
more than thumbs of steel.
But now it's getting us
back up out of our seats -
with great potential to slim
them down. *
I guess when it comes to
getting back into shape, for
yours truly, where there's a
Will, there's a way.

DECK
Continued from 1C
pitch is inside."
"His numbers were out-
standing this season, he was
our top offensive player, and
our most valuable player,"
said SFCC head coach. Rick
Hitt who will travel with
Decker for the series.,
"He has a very promising
future in this game. If he con-.
tinues to display the daily
approach, and consistent work

habits he has while playing for
us, who knows where he may
end up," Hitt said. "His selec-
tion as a member of the inter-
national team is an exceptional
honor. He is one of only 22
players nationwide who are
selected. We are happy for him
and his family and are excited
about the upcoming series in
Millington. It should be a great
series and the people in
Millington run a first class
operation so it will be no doubt
very special for each player."
Decker has signed with

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schedule. If you find an error, report it to
the Classified Advertising Department
immediately. See telephone numbers
listed in this directory. The publisher
assumes no financial responsibility for
errors or omissions. Liability for errors
shall not exceed the cost of that portion
of space occupied by such error.
CANCELLATIONS: When a cancellation
is called in a KILL number will be given
to you. THIS NUMBER IS VERY IMPOR-
TANT and must be used if ad failed to
cancel. All ads cancelled prior to sched-
uled expiration date will be billed for
complete run unless a KILL number has
been issued. Claims for adjustments to
billing of advertising should be made
upon receipt of billing by telephoning
385-6155, 452-1009, or 465-0426.

As a compliment to our valued cus-
tomers, the News-Sun offers five 3-line
ads a month for items under $250 FREE
OF CHARGE. However, due to the high
demand of Classified Advertising, we
ask that these ads be either mailed or
hand delivered tohe News-Sun at 22227
US 27 S., Sebring, FL 33870; or e-
mailed to advertising@newssun.com

1050 d
Last Known Address
821 SHIRLEY STREET
SEBRING, FL 33870
Current Residence is Unknown
YOU ARE NOTIFIED that an action to
foreclose a mortgage on the following descri-
bed property in Highlands County, Florida:
LOT 10, BLOCK 536, OF THE SECOND
ADDITION TO COLORED SCHOOL ADDITION,
ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF AS RE-
CORDED IN PLAT BOOK 3, PAGE 120, OF THE
PUBLIC RECORDS OF HIGHLANDS COUNTY,
FLORIDA.
has been filed against you and you are re-
quired to serve a copy of your written defens-
es, if any, to it on SMITH, HIATT & DIAZ, P.A.,
Plaintiff's attorneys, whose address is PO
BOX 11438 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33339-1438,
(954) 564-0071, within 30 days from first
date of publication, and file the original with
the Clerk of this Court either before service on
Plaintiff's attorneys or immediately thereafter;
otherwise a default will be entered against you
for the relief demanded in the complaint or
petition.
DATED on May 15, 2008.
L. E. "'Luke" Brooker, Clerk of Courts
As Clerk of the Court
By: /s/ Lisa Tantillo
As Deputy Clerk
In accordance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, persons needing spe-
cial accommodation to participate in this pro-
ceeding should contact the Clerk of the Court
not later than five business days prior to the
proceeding at the Highlands County Court-
house, Telephone 863-386-6565 or 1-800-
955-8770 via Florida Relay Service.
May 25; June 1,2008

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
Case No.: 08000230GCS
Division: Civil
K & C PROPERTY VENTURES, LLC, a Limited
Liability Company
Plaintiff,
vs.
ABDUL HAFEEZ ALI AND
ANY AND ALL UNKNOWN PARTIES
CLAIMING BY, THROUGH, UNDER AND
AGAINST THE HEREIN NAMED INDIVIDUAL
DEFENDANTS) WHO ARE NOT KNOWN TO
BE DEAD OR ALLVE, WHETHER SAID
UNKNOWN PARTIES MAY CLAIM AN
INTEREST AS SPOUSES, HEIRS, DEVISEES,
GRANTEES, OR OTHER CLAIMANTS,
Defendants
NOTICE OF ACTION
Abdul Hafeez Ali
Last Known Address: 1500 NW 12th Ave.,
Miami, FL 33136
Current Address: Unknown
ANY AND ALL UNKNOWN PARTIES CLAIM-
ING BY, THROUGH, UNDER, AND AGAINST
THE HEREIN NAMED INDIVIDUAL DEFEND-
ANT(S) WHO ARE NOT KNOWN TO BE DEAD
OR ALIVE, WHETHER SAID UNKNOWN PAR-
TIES MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST AS SPOUS-
ES, HEIRS, DEVISEES, GRANTEES OR OTHER
CLAIMANTS
YOU ARE NOTIFIED that an action to Quiet
Title to Real Property on the following descri-
bed real property in Highlands County, Flori-
da:
Lot 1, Block 43, Placid Lakes Section 19,
according to the Plat thereof as recorded in
Plat Book 9, Page 14 of the Public Records of
Highlands County, Florida.
and
Lot 20, Block 42, Placid Lakes Section 19, ac-
cording to the Plat thereof as recorded in the
Plat Book 9, Page 14, of the Public Records of
Highlands County, Florida.
has been filed against you and you are re-
quired to serve a copy of your written defens-
es by June 30, 2008 on The Trunkett Law
Group, LLC, Plaintiff's attorney, whose ad-
dress is 6820 Porto Fino Circle, Suite 2, Fort
Myers, FL 33912, and file the original with this
Court either before service on the Plaintiff's
Attorney, or immediately thereafter; otherwise,
a default will be entered against you for the re-
lief demanded in the Complaint or petition.
This notice shall be published once a week
for two consecutive weeks in the News-Sun.
WITNESS my hand and the seal of this
Court on the 19th day of May, 2008.
L.E. Brooker
Clerk of the Court
By:'/s/ Lisa Tantillo
Deputy Clerk
590 South Commerce Ave.
Sebring, FL 33870-3867
Phone (863) 402-6564
May 25; June 1, 2008

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE 10TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
GENERAL JURISDICTION DIVISION
CASE NO.: 07001118GCS
NATIONAL CITY MORTGAGE CO.,
PLAINTIFF,
-VS-
JEFF TYSON, ET AL.,
DEFENDANTSS.
NOTICE OF ACTION
CONSTRUCTIVE SERVICE
TO: JEFF TYSON AND UNKNOWN SPOUSE
OF JEFF TYSON
whose residence is unknown if he/she/they be
living; and if he/she/they be dead, the un-
known defendants who may. be spouses,
heirs, devisees, grantees, assignees, lienors,
creditors, trustees, and all parties claiming an
interest by, through, under or against the De-
fendants, who are not known to be dead or
alive, and all parties having or claiming to
have any right, title or interest in the property
described in the mortgage being foreclosed
herein.
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that an action to
foreclose a mortgage on the following proper-
ty:
LOT 13, IN BLOCK 178, OF LEISURE LAKES
SECTION THREE, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT
THEREOF AS RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 6,
PAGE 25, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF
HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA.
has been filed against you and you are re-
quired to serve a copy of your written defens-
es, if any, to it on DAVID J. STERN, ESQ.
Plaintiff's attorney, whose address is 801 S.
University Drive, Suite 500, Plantation, Florida
S33324 on or before June 17th, 2008 (no later
than 30 days from the date of the first publica-
tion of this notice of action) and file the origi-
nal with the clerk of this court either before
service on Plaintiff's attorney or immediately
thereafter; otherwise a default will be entered
against you for the relief demanded in the
complaint or petition filed herein.
WITNESS my hand and the seal of this
Court at HIGHLANDS County, Florida, this
21st day of May, 2008.
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT

1050 -Leg
07-16150(NCM)(FNM)
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AMERICANS
WITH DISABILITIES ACT, persons with disa-
bilities needing a special accommodation
should contact COURT ADMINISTRATION, at
the HIGHLANDS County Courthouse at 863-
471-5313, 1-800-955-8771 (TDD) or 1-800-
955-8770, via Florida Relay Service.
May 25; June 1, 2008

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT
FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
PROBATE DIVISION
FILE NO. PC 08-228
IN RE: ESTATE OF
D'ANN RHINEBOLT
a.k.a. D'ANN SMITH
Deceased.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The administration of the estate of D'ANN
RHINEBOLT a.k.a. D'ANN SMITH, deceased,
whose date of death was MARCH 11, 2008,
and whose Social Security Number is 308-52-
8356, is pending in the Circuit Court for High-
lands County, Florida, Probate Division, the
address of which is 590 S. Commerce Ave-
nue, Sebring, Florida 33870. The names and
addresses of the personal representative and
the personal representative's attorney are set
forth below.
All creditors of the decedent and other
persons having claims or demands against
decedent's estate on whom a copy of this no-
tice is required to be served must file their
claims with this Court WITHIN THE LATER OF
3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST
PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS
AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF
THIS NOTICE ON THEM.
All other creditors of the decedent and
other persons having claims or demands
against decedent's estate must file their
claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AF-
TER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION
OF THIS NOTICE.
ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WITHIN THE
TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN SECTION
733.702 OF THE FLORIDA PROBATE CODE
WILL BE FOREVER BARRED.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIOD
SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO
(2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECE-
DENT'S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED.
THE DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION OF
THIS NOTICE IS: MAY 18, 2008.
Personal Representative:
/s/ HAP DANIEL FIANDT
112 W WASHINGTON BLVD APT. 418
FT.WAYNE, INDIANA 46802
Attorney for Personal Representative:
/s/ David F. Lanier
DAVID F. LANIER
Florida Bar No. 045399
P.O. Box 400
Avon Park, Florida 33826-0400
Telephone: (863) 453-4457
MAY 18, 25, 2008
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
CASE NO. 08-093-GCS
BAYVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC,
a Delaware Limited Liability Company,
Plaintiff,
vs.
SPRING IN YOUR STEP, INC., CHRISTOPHER
CHANDLER, ROBERT J. SKORKA, CAROL
ANN SKORKA, UNKNOWN TENANTS) IN
POSSESSION #1, AND #2,
Defendant(s).
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final
Summary Judgment of Foreclosure dated May
12, 2008, entered in Civil Case No.: 08-093-
GCS of the Circuit Court of the Tenth Judicial
Circuit in and for Highlands County, Florida,
wherein BAYVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC, a
Delaware Limited Liability Company, Plaintiff,
and SPRING IN YOUR STEP, INC., CHRISTO-
PHER CHANDLER, ROBERT J. SKORKA, CAR-
OL ANN SKORKA, UNKNOWN TENANT #1
CHRISTOPHER CHANDLER, are Defendants.
I will sell to the highest bidder for cash in the
Jury Assembly Room in the Basement of the
Highlands County Courthouse, 590 South
Commerce Avenue, Sebring, FL 33871, at
11:00 a.m., on the 16th'day of June, 2008, the
following described real property as set forth
in said Final Summary Judgment, to wit:
Lots 1 and 2, Block 48, of the Original
Town of Sebring, according to the plat thereof
recorded in Plat Book 3, Page 1, of the Public
Records of DeSoto County (of which High-
lands County was formerly a part), and re-
corded in Transcript Book, Page 6, Highlands
County, Florida, LESS AND EXCEPT: A por-
tion of Lots 1 and 2, Block 48, Town of Sebr-
ing, as per plat recorded in Plat Book 3, Page
1, of the Public Records of DeSoto County, (of
which Highlands County was formerly a part)
Florida, being more particularly described as
follows: Begin at the most Southerly comer
of Lot 1, thence run North 47008'00" West
and along the Northeasterly right-of-way line
of North Commerce Avenue a distance of
126.39 feet to a point on the arc of a curve
concave to the Southeast said point lying on
the Southeasterly right-of-way line of a 15
foot alley; thence in a Northeasterly direction
and along the said right-of-way line and along
the arc of said curve to the right (curve having
for its elements a Radius of 275.00 feet, a
central 18003'19" and a chord bearing of
North 58009'26" East) a distance of 86.66
feet; thence South 16013'00" East a distance
of 42.08 feet; thence South 73*16'42" West a
distance of 3.40 feet; thence South 15�40'27"
East a distance of 47.53 feet; thence South
26151'57" East a distance of 36.94 feet to a
point on the Northwesterly right-of-way line to
Circle North, said point lying on the arc of a
curve concave to the Southeast; thence in a
Southwesterly direction and along said right-
of-way line and along the arc of said curve to
the left (curve having for its elements a radius
of 150.00 feet, a central angle of 08022'39'"
and a chord bearing of South 58,35'33"
West) a distance of 21.93 feet to Point of Be-
ginning.
If you are a person claiming a right to funds
remaining after the sale, you must file a claim
with the clerk no later than 60 days after the
sale. If you fail to claim you will not de entitled
to any remaining funds. After 60 days, only
the owner Of record as of the date of the lis
pendens may claim the surplus.
WITNESS my hand and the seal of the court
on May 13, 2008.
L.E. "'LUKE" BROKER
CLERK OFTHE COURT
By: /s/ Priscilla Michalak
Deputy Clerk
(COURT SEAL)
Attorney for Plaintiff:
Brian L. Rosaler, Esquire
Popkin & Rosaler, P.A.
1701 West Hillsboro Boulevard
Suite 302
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
Telephone: (954) 360-9030
Facsimile: (954)420-5187
May 25; June 1,2008

1050 Legal

1050 L

THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIVIL ACTION
CASE NO. 282007CA000631AOOOXX
DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST
COMPANY, AS TRUSTEE OF AMERIQUEST
MORTGAGE SECURITIES, INC., ASSET-
BACKED PASS THROUGH CERTIFICATES,
SERIES 2004-R8, UNDER THE POOLING
AND SERVICING AGREEMENT DATED AS
OF AUGUST 1, 20Q4, WITHOUT
RECOURSE,
Plaintiff,
vs.
CHERYL COOPER
AK/A CHERYL M. COOPER, et al,
Defendantss.
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a
Final Judgment of Mortgage Foreclosure dat-
ed May 12, 2008 and entered in Case No.
282007CA000631AOOOXX of the Circuit Court
of the TENTH Judicial Circuit in and for HIGH-
LANDS County, Florida wherein DEUTSCHE
BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, AS
TRUSTEE OF AMERIQUEST MORTGAGE SE-
CURITIES, INC., ASSET-BACKED PASS
THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2004-R8,
UNDER THE POOLING AND SERVICING
AGREEMENT DATED AS OF AUGUST 1, 2004,
WITHOUT RECOURSE, is the Plaintiff and
CHERYL COOPER A/K/A CHERYL M. COOP-
ER; are the Defendants, I will sell to the high-
est and best bidder for cash at JURY ASSEM-
BLY ROOM IN THE BASEMENT OF THE HIGH-
LANDS COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 430 SOUTH
COMMERCE AVENUE at 11:00 AM, on the
16th day of June, 2008, the following descri-
bed property as set forth in said Final Judg-
ment:
LOT 6, AND THE NORTH 1/2 OF LOT 7,
BLOCK 114, LAKE VIEW PLACE, ACCORDING
TO THE PLAT THEREOF AS RECORDED IN
PLAT BOOK 1, PAGE 41, OF THE PUBLIC RE-
CORDS OF HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA.
A/K/A 1377 NANCESOWEE AVENUE,
SEBRING, FL 33870
Any person claiming an interest in the sur-
plus from the sale, if any, other than the
property owner as of the date of the Lis Pen-
dens must file a claim within sixty (60) days
after the sale.
WITNESS MY HAND and the seal of this
Court on May 13, 2008.
Luke E. Brooker
Clerk of the Circuit Court
By:/s/ Priscilla Michalak
Deputy Clerk
Florida Default Law Group, P.L.
P.O. Box 25018
Tampa, Florida 33622-5018
F07025431 AMERIQUEST-CONV-R-ejayska
* See Americans with Disabilities Act
In accordance with the Americans Disabilities
Act, persons with disabilities needing a special
accommodation to participate in this proceed-
ing should contact the individual or agency
sending the notice at Echevarria & Associates,
P.A., P.O. Box 25018, Tampa, FL 33622-5018,
telephone (813) 251-4766, not later than sev-
en (7) days prior to the proceeding. If hearing
impaired, (TDD) 1-800-955-8771, or voice (V)
1-800-955-8770, via Florida Relay Service.
May 25; June 1, 2008

THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIVIL ACTION
CASE NO. 282007CA000990A00OXX
U.S. BANK N.A. AS TRUSTEE FOR HOME
EQUITY PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES
SERIES HEAT 2006-5,
Plaintiff,
vs.
VIVIAN ARRECHAVALETA, et al,
Defendant(s).
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a
Final Judgment of Mortgage Foreclosure dat-
ed May 12, 2008 and entered in Case No.
282007CA000990AOOOXX of the Circuit Court
of the TENTH Judicial Circuit in and for HIGH-
LANDS County, Florida wherein U.S. BANK
N.A. AS TRUSTEE FOR HOME EQUITY PASS-
THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES HEAT
2006-5, is the Plaintiff and VIVIAN ARRECHA-
VALETA; TENANT #1, and TENANT #2 are the
Defendants, I will sell to the highest and best
bidder for cash at JURY ASSEMBLY ROOM IN
THE BASEMENT OF THE HIGHLANDS COUN-
TY COURTHOUSE, 430 SOUTH COMMERCE
AVENUE at 11:00 AM, on the 16th day of
June, 2008, the following described property
as set forth in said Final Judgment:
LOT 8, BLOCK 8, ORANGE BLOSSOM ES-
TATES, UNIT NO. 8, ACCORDING TO THE
PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 6,
PAGE 18, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF
HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA.
A/K/A 4812 LAKEWOOD ROAD, SEBRING,
FL 33875
Any person claiming an interest in the sur-
plus from the sale, if any, other than the
property owner as of the date of the Lis Pen-
dens must file a claim within sixty (60) days
after the sale.
WITNESS MY HAND and the seal of this
Court on May 13, 2008.
Luke E. Brooker
Clerk of the Circuit Court
By: /s/ Priscilla Michalak
Deputy Clerk
Florida Default Law Group, P.L.
P.O. Box 25018
Tampa, Florida 33622-5018
F07044955 ASC-CONV-R-khartmaier
**See Americans with Disabilities Act
In accordance with the Americans Disabilities
Act, persons with disabilities needing a special
accommodation to participate in this proceed-
ing should contact the individual or agency
sending the notice at Echevarria & Associates,
P.A., P.O. Box 25018, Tampa, FL 33622-5018,
telephone (813) 251-4766, not later than sev-
en (7) days prior to the proceeding. If hearing
impaired, (TDD) 1-800-955-8771, or voice (V)
1-800-955-8770, via Florida Relay Service.
May 25; June 1,2008

THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIVIL ACTION
CASE NO.282007CA000782AOOOXX
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS
TRUSTEE FOR THE CMLTI ASSET-BACKED
PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES
2007-AMC3,
Plaintiff,
vs.
ANDY L. GONZALEZ, et al,
Defendantss.
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a
Final Judgment of Mortgage Foreclosure dat-
ed May 12, 2008 and entered in Case No.
282007CA000782AOOOXX of the Circuit Court
of the TENTH Judicial Circuit in and for HIGH-
LANDS County, Florida wherein U.S. BANK
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR
THE CMLTI ASSET-BACKED PASS-THROUGH
CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-AMC3, is the
Plaintiff and ANDY L. GONZALEZ; ARGENT
MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLC; are the Defend-

ants, I will sell to the highest and best bidder
for cash at JURY ASSEMBLY ROOM IN THE
BASEMENT OF THE HIGHLANDS COUNTY
COURTHOUSE, 430 SOUTH COMMERCE AVE-
NUE at 11:00 AM, on the 16th day of June,
2008, the following described property as set
forthin said Final Judgment:
LOT 8, BLOCK DD, SPRING LAKE VILLAGE
VI, ACCORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF AS
RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 10, PAGE(S) 21,
OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS OF HIGHLANDS
COUNTY, FLORIDA.
A/K/A 300 ROBINHOOD TERRACE, SEBR-
ING, FL 33876
Any person claiming an interest in the sur-
plus from the sale, if any, other than the
property owner as of the date of the Us Pen-
dens must file a claim within sixty (60) days
after the sale.
WITNESS MY HAND and the seal of this
Court on May 13, 2008.
Luke E. Brooker.
Clerk of the Circuit Court
By:/s/ Priscilla Michalak
Deputy Clerk
Florida Default Law Group, P.L.
P.O. Box 25018
Tampa, Florida 33622-5018
F07035473 LITTON-CONV-R-csilversto
**See Americans with Disabilities Act
In accordance with the Americans Disabilities
Act, persons with disabilities needing a special
accommodation to participate in this proceed-
ing should contact the individual or agency
sending the notice at Echevarria & Associates,
PA., P.O. Box 25018, Tampa, FL 33622-5018,
telephone (813) 251-4766, not later than sev-
en (7) days prior to the proceeding. If hearing
impaired, (TDD) 1-800-955-8771, or voice (V)
1-800-955-8770, via Florida Relay Service.
May 25; June 1, 2008

THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIVIL ACTION
CASE NO. 07001077GCS
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS
TRUSTEE FOR ASSET-BACKED PASS-
THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2006-
WFHE3,
Plaintiff,
vs.
RICHARD R. ABBOTT, et al,
Defendant(s).
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a
Final Judgment of Mortgage Foreclosure dat-
ed May 12, 2008 and entered in Case No.
07001077GCS of the Circuit Court of the
TENTH Judicial Circuit in and for HIGHLANDS
County, Florida wherein U.S. BANK NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR ASSET-
BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES
SERIES 2006-WFHE3, is the Plaintiff and RI-
CHARD R. ABBOTT; GAIL A. ABBOTT; are the
Defendants, I will sell to the highest and best
bidder for cash at JURY ASSEMBLY ROOM IN -
THE BASEMENT OF THE HIGHLANDS COUN-
TY COURTHOUSE, 430 SOUTH COMMERCE
AVENUE at 11:00 AM, on the 16th day of
June, 2008, the following described property
as set forth in said Final Judgment:
LOT TWENTY ONE (21), BLOCK ONE HUN-
DRED THIRTY EIGHT (138), OF PLACID
LAKES SECTION ELEVEN, ACCORDING TO
THE PLAT THEREOF AS RECORDED IN PLAT
BOOK 8, PAGE 7, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS
OF HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA.
AK/A 144 ENOS AVENUE NW, LAKE
PLACID, FL 33852
Any person claiming an interest in the sur-
plus from the sale, if any, other than the
property owner as of the date of the Lis Pen-
dens must file a claim within sixty (60) days
after the sale.
WITNESS MY HAND and the seal of this
Court on May 13, 2008.
Luke E. Brooker
Clerk of the Circuit Court
By: /s/ Priscilla Michalak
Deputy Clerk
Florida Default Law Group, P.L.
P.O. Box 25018
Tampa, Florida 33622-5018
F07054045 NMNC-CONV-R-khartmaier
* *See Americans with Disabilities Act
In accordance with the Americans Disabilities
Act, persons with disabilities needing a special
accommodation to participate in this proceed-
ing should contact the individual or agency
.sending the notice at Echevarria & Associates,
P.A., P.O. Box 25018, Tampa, FL 33622-5018,
telephone (813) 251-4766, not later than sev-
en (7) days prior to the proceeding. If hearing
impaired, (TDD) 1-800-955-8771, or voice (V)
1-800-955-8770, via Florida Relay Service.
May 25; June 1,2008

THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
CIVIL ACTION
CASE NO. 2007-179-GCS
WELLS FARGO BANK, NA SUCCESSOR BY
MERGER TO WELLS FARGO HOME
MORTGAGE, INC.,
Plaintiff,
vs.
THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, DEVISEES,
GRANTEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS,
CREDITORS, TRUSTEES, OR OTHER
CLAIMANTS CLAIMING BY, THROUGH,
UNDER, OR AGAINST GLORIA ALESHIRE
A/K/A GLORIA M. ALESHIRE, DECEASED-
CAREY HOPE WIMER-AS AN HEIR OF THE
ESTATE, et al,
Defendant(s).
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a
Final Judgment of Mortgage Foreclosure dat-
ed May 12, 2008 and entered in Case No.
2007-179-GCS of the Circuit Court of the
TENTH Judicial Circuit in and for HIGHLANDS
County, Florida wherein WELLS FARGO BANK,
NA SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO WELLS
FARGO HOME MORTGAGE, INC., is the Plain-
tiff and THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, DEVISEES,
GRANTEES, ASSIGNEES, LIENORS, CRED-
ITORS, TRUSTEES, OR OTHER CLAIMANTS
CLAIMING BY, THROUGH, UNDER, OR
AGAINST GLORIA ALESHIRE NA/K/A GLORIA
M. ALESHIRE, DECEASED-CAREY HOPE WI-
MER-AS AN HEIR OF THE ESTATE; CAREY
HOPE WIMER, AS AN HEIR OF THE ESTATE
OF GLORIA ALESHIRE NA/K/A GLORIA M. ALE-
SHIRE, DECEASED; JOHN R. ALESHIRE F/K/A
VANCE M. ALESHIRE, AS AN HEIR OF THE
ESTATE OF GLORIA ALESHIRE NA/K/A GLORIA
M. ALESHIRE; DECEASED; ANY AND ALL UN-
KNOWN PARTIES CLAIMING BY, THROUGH,
UNDER, AND AGAINST THE HEREIN NAMED
INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS) WHO ARE NOT
KNOWN TO BE DEAD OR ALIVE, WHETHER
SAID UNKNOWN PARTIES MAY CLAIM AN
INTEREST AS SPOUSES, HEIRS, DEVISEES,
GRANTEES, OR OTHER CLAIMANTS; HIGH-
LANDS COUNTY; RSA ONE. CORPORATION
AND QUALITY CELLULAR COMMUNICA-
TIONS, A DISSOLVED CORPORATION, AS
GENERAL PARTNERS OF FLORIDA CELLU-

1050 Legals
OF COLLIER'HENDRY AND D/B/A CELLULAR
ONE OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA; STATE OF
FLORIDA - DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE;
STATE OF FLORIDA; HIGHLANDS COUNTY
CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT; TENANT #1
N/K/A JOHN ALESHIRE; are the Defendants, I
will sell to the highest and best bidder for
cash at JURY ASSEMBLY ROOM IN THE
BASEMENT OF THE HIGHLANDS COUNTY
COURTHOUSE, 430 SOUTH COMMERCE AVE-
NUE at 11:00 AM, on the 16th day of June,
2008, the following described property as set
forth in said Final Judgment:
LOTS 22, 23, & 24, BLOCK 154, SEBRING
HIGHLANDS SUBDIVISION, ACCORDING TO
THE PLAT THEREOF AS RECORDED IN PLAT
BOOK 1, PAGE 97, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS
OF HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA.
A/K/A 1419 SUNKIST AVENUE, SEBRING,
FL 33870
Any person claiming an interest in the sur-
plus from the sale, if any, other than the
property owner as of the date of the Lis Pen-
dens must file a claim within sixty (60) days
after the sale.
WITNESS MY HAND and the seal of this
Court on May 13, 2008.
Luke E. Brooker
Clerk of the Circuit Court
By: /s/ Priscilla Michalak
Deputy Clerk
Florida Default Law Group, P.L.
P.O. Box 25018
Tampa, Florida 33622-5018
F07006425 NMNC-CONV-R-khartmaier
**See Americans with Disabilities Act
In accordance with the Americans Disabilities
Act, persons with disabilities needing a special
accommodation to participate in this proceed-
ing should contact the individual or agency
sending the notice at Echevarria & Associates,
P.A., P.O. Box 25018, Tampa, FL 33622-5018,
telephone (813) 251-4766, not later than sev-
en (7) days prior to the proceeding. If hearing
impaired, (TDD) 1-800-955-8771, or voice (V)
1-800-955-8770, via Florida Relay Service.
May 25; June 1, 2008

PUBLIC AUCTION
FOR TOWING & STORAGE
1994 DODGE
1B7HC16Y9RS704664
ON JUNE 5, 2008. 9:00OA.M.
AT PRECISION AUTO BODY
734 CR 621 EAST
LAKE PLACID FL 33852
MAY 25, 2008
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
10TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA,
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY
CASE NO.: 07001064 GCS
CIVIL DIVISION
HSBC BANK USA, N.A., AS INDENTURE
TRUSTEE FOR THE REGISTERED
NOTEHOLDERS OF RENAISSANCE HOME
EQUITY LOAN TRUST 2006-3,
PLAINTIFF,
-VS-
ROSA CARRANZA; AUTOVEST, LLC; STATE
OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE;
UNKNOWN PARTIES IN POSSESSION #1;
UNKNOWN PARTIES IN POSSESSION #2;
IF LIVING, AND ALL UNKNOWN PARTIES
CLAIMING BY, THROUGH, UNDER AND
AGAINST THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS)
WHO ARE NOT KNOWN TO BE DEAD OR
ALIVE, WHETHER SAID UNKNOWN PARTIES
MAY CLAIM AN INTEREST AS SPOUSE,
HEIRS, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, OR OTHER
CLAIMANTS,
DEFENDANTS.
NOTICE OF SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to an
Order of Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated
May 12, 2008, entered in Civil Case No. 07
- 601064 GCS of the Circuit Court of the 10TH
Judicial Circuit in and for HIGHLANDS County,
Florida, wherein HSBC BANK USA, N.A., AS
-- INDENTURE TRUSTEE FOR THE REGISTERED
NOTEHOLDERS OF RENAISSANCE HOME
EQUITY LOAN TRUST 2006-3, Plaintiff and
ROSA CARRANZA are defendantss, I will sell
to the highest and best bidder for cash, JURY
ASSEMBLY ROOM IN THE BASEMENT OF
THE HIGHLANDS COUNTY COURTHOUSE LO-
CATED AT 430 SOUTH COMMERCE AVENUE,
SEBRING, FLORIDA AT 11:00 A.M. on June
26, 2008, the following described property as
set forth in said Final Judgment, to-wit:
LOTS 13 AND 16, BLOCK G, OF TOWN OF
AVON PARK, IN SECTION 22, TOWNSHIP 33
SOUTH, RANGE 28 EAST, ACCORDING TO
THE PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN PLAT
BOOK 1, PAGE 58, OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS
OF DESOTO COUNTY, FLORIDA OF WHICH
HIGHLANDS COUNTY WAS FORMERLY A
PART.
ANY PERSON CLAIMING AN INTEREST IN
THE SURPLUS FROM THE SALE, IF ANY,
OTHER THAN THE PROPERTY OWNER AS OF
THE DATE OF THE L S PENDENS MUST FILE
A CLAIM WITHIN 60 DAYS AFTER THE SALE.
IF YOU ARE PERSON WITH A DISABILITY
WHO NEED ANY ACCOMMODATION IN OR-
DER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCEEDING,
YOU ARE ENTITLED, AT NO COST TO YOU,
TO THE PROVISION OF CERTAIN ASSIS-
TANCE. PLEASE CONTACT COURT ADMINIS-
TRATION AT 430 S. COMMERCE AVENUE,
SEBRING, FLORIDA 33870, TELEPHONE
(941) 386-6617, WITHIN TWO (2) WORKING
DAYS OF YOUR RECEIPT OF THIS NOTICE; IF
YOU ARE HEARING IMPAIRED CALL: 1-800-
955-8771; IF YOU ARE VOICE IMPAIRED,
CALL: 1-800-955-8770.
DATED at SEBRING, Florida, this 13th day
of May, 2008.
LE. "LUKE" BROOKER
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
HIGHLANDS County, Florida
By: Is/ Priscilla Michalak
Deputy Clerk
ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF:
SHAPIRO & FISHMAN, LLP
2424 NORTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY
SUITE 360
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA 33431.
07-828188
May 25; June 1,2008

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT
OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA
CASE NO.: 08-543-GCS
DALE BURY,
Plaintiff,
vs.
JULIA VAN GASTEL, and if deceased, her
unknown spouse, if living, and if not,
her heirs, successors, assigns, and all other
parties or persons claiming by or through
them,
Defendants.
NOTICE OF SUIT - PROPERTY
TO: JULIA VAN GASTEL, and if deceased, her
unknown spouse, if living, and if not, her
heirs, successors, assigns, and all other par-
ties or persons claiming by or through them,
RESIDENCE UNKNOWN.
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that an ac-

tion to quiet title on the following property in
Highlands County, Florida:
Lot 2, Block 21, PLACID LAKES, Section
19, according the plat thereof recorded in
Plat Book 9, Page 14, of the Public Records of
Highlands County, Florida.
has been filed against you and you are re-
quired to serve a copy of your written defens-
es, if any, to J. Timothy Sheehan, Esquire of
SWAINE, HARRIS & SHEEHAN, P.A., 401 Dal
Hall Boulevard, Lake Placid, Florida 33852, the
Plaintiff's attorney, and file the original with
the Clerk of the above-styled court on or be-
fore June 11, 2008, otherwise a judgment
may be entered against you for the relief de-
manded in the complaint.
WITNESS my hand and seal of this Court
on the 1st day of May, 2008.
L.E. "LUKE" BROKER
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
By: /s/ Lisa Tantillo
Deputy Clerk
May 11, 18, 25; June 1, 2008

1050 Legals
NOTICE
Pursuant to IRC Section 6104(d), the annual
return of the Vinod C. and Tarlika Thakkar
Foundation is available for public inspection at
the offices of the NCT Group CPA's L.L.P. lo-
cated at 435 S. Commerce Avenue, Sebring,
Florida, Monday through Friday between the
hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Questions
should be directed to the Foundation's man-
ager, Vinod C. Thakkar at 385-5129 or the
Foundation's CPA, Bill Benton, at 385-1577.
May 25, 2008
PUBLIC NOTICE
Request for Proposal
On Friday, May 23, 2008, the Heartland Work-
force Investment Board, Inc., d/b/a Heartland
Workforce, issued a Request for Proposal
(RFP) to solicit responses from Certified Pub-
lic Accounting Firms with the expertise and
capacity to provide auditing services. The Re-
quest for Proposal (RFP) is posted on the
Heartland Workforce website at www.heart-
land-workforce.oro. Completed proposals
must be submitted to Heartland Workforce,
2726 US Hwy 27 N., Sebring, FL 33870 no lat-
er than 3:00 pm on June 20, 2008. Complete
details for responding to this solicitation can
be found in the RFP.
May 25, 2008

1055 Highlands
105 VCounty Legals
HIGHLANDS COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
GENERAL SERVICES & PURCHASING
NOTICE OF INTERNET AUCTION
START DATE: Friday May 23, 2008 at 9:00 A.M.
END DATE: Monday June 02, 2008 at 6:00 P.M.
through 10:00 P.M.
LOCATION/WEBSITE: GOVDEALS.COM
Pursuant to Florida Statutes and Board adopted poli-
cies, the Highlands County Board of County Commis-
sioners (HCBCC), Highlands County; Sebring, Florida,
has declared various items as surplus property and
therefore authorized an Internet Auction to be con-
ducted for the purpose of disposing of said property.
A list of specific surplus itmes may be obtained from
the following locations and/or by requesting a list by
tax (863) 402-6735 or email to sbutler@hcbcc.org
or plemay@hcbcc.org
1) HC Purchasing department; 4320 George Blvd.,
Sebring, FL 33875-5803
Contacts: Sandra Butler at 9863) 402-6527 or Pam
Lemay at (863) 402-6528.
2) HC Government Center, 600 S. Commerce Ave.,
2nd Floor BCC Receptionist Sebring, FL 33870 at
(863)402-6500
Additional information can be obtained Monday
through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 about the
County's Internet Auction process by Contacting
Highlands County BCC's General Services/Purchas-
ing Department at the following numbers (863)402-
6527 (863)402-6528
Note: All property will be sold on an "as is, where is"
basis.
The HCBCC reserves the right to add or delete items
from GovDeals' Website at anytime during the Inter-
net bidding dates above.
Board of County Commissioners
Purchasing Department
Highlands County, Florida
May 21, 25,28 and June 1, 2008
NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT ORDINANCE
Please take notice that Ordinance No. 1266 will be
presented to the City Council for adoption upon its
second and final reading at the City Council Chambers
on the 3rd day of June, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. A copy of
the proposed Ordinance can be obtained from the of-
fice of the City Clerk. Any person may appear and be
heard with respect to the proposed Ordinance. The
proposed Ordinance is entitled as follows:
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 16-31 OF THE
CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF SEBRING
REGARDING REQUIREMENTS OF MEMBERS OF THE
PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD AND PROVIDING
FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Pursuant to Section 286.0105 of the Florida Stat-
utes, as amended, the City Council hereby advises
that if any interested person decides to appeal any de-
cision made by the City Council with respect to any
matter considered at the proceedings, he will need a
record of the proceeding and that, for such purpose,
he may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the
proceedings is made, which record includes the testi-
mony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be
based.
This notice shall be published on May 25, 2008.
/s/ Kathy Haley
Kathy Haley, City Clerk
City of Sebring, Florida

HIGHLANDS COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
(HCBCC)
GENERAL SERVICES & PURCHASING
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
The Board ofy ounty Commissioners (BCC), High-
lands County, Sebring, Florida, will receive sealed
proposals in the County Purchasing Department for:
RFP 08-052 - ADVERTISING & RELATED MARKET-
ING SERVICES FOR HIGHLANDS COUNTY TOURIST
DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (HCTDC)
Highlands County requests proposals from individu-
als or firms to provide Advertising & Related Market-
ing Services for Tourist Development Program.
Determination of vendor qualifications for the above
will be through a selection process and will be based
on the vendor's proposal which Is to be completed
and submitted In accordance with the RFP specifica-
tions. The contract, Ift awarded, shall incorporate the
RFP specifications and the vendor's proposal.
RFP with criteria, requirements, and scope of work
will be provided upon written request by contacting:
Director, Gerald (Jed) Secory, MBA, CPPO, CPM,
Highlands County General Services/Purchasing De-
partment 4320 George Boulevard, Sebring, Florida
33875-5803 Phone: 863-402-6523; Fax: 863-402-
6735; or by E-Mail: asecorv@hcbcc.ora
Vendors will submit one (1) original and five (10)
copies of their sealed proposal and other required da-
ta in a sealed envelope. Proposal envelopes must be
sealed and marked with the RFP number and name so
as to identify the enclosed submittal. Proposals must
be delivered to Highlands County Purchasing Depart-
ment, 4320 George Blvd., Sebring, FL 33875-5803 so
as to reach said office no later than 2:00 P.M., Thurs-
day, June 26, 2008, at which time they will be
opened. Proposals received later than the date and
time specified will be rejected. The Board will not be
responsible for the late deUveries of proposals that
are incorrectly addressed, delivered in person, by mail
or any other type of delivery service.
One or more County Commissioners may be in at-
tendance at the proposal opening.
The Highlands County Board of County Commission-
ers (HCBCC/COUNTY) reserves the right to accept or
reject any or all proposals or any parts thereof, and
the determination of this award, if an award is made,
will be based on the ranking of each vendor's propos-
al. The Board reserves the right to waive irregularities
in the proposal.
The Board of County Commissioners of Highlands

1055 C Highlands
1055 County Legals

County, Florida, does not discriminate upon the basis
of any individuals disability status. This non-discrim-
ination policy involves every aspect of the Board's
functions, including one's access to, participation,
employment or treatment its programs or activities.
Highlands County is an equal opportunity employer, a
fair housing advocate and a handicap accessible juris-
diction. Anyone requiring reasonable accommodation
as provided for in the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) or Section 286.26 Florida Statutes should con-
tact Mr. John Minor, ADA Coordinator at: 863-402-
6509 (Voice), or via Florida Relay Service 711, or by
e-mail: Iminor@hcbcc.ora. Requests for CART or in-
terpreter services should be made at least 24 hours in
advance to permit coordination of the service.
Board of County Commissioners
Purchasing Department
Highlands County, Florida
Website: www.hcbcc.net
May 25; June 1, 2008

HIGHLANDS COUNTY
LEGAL NOTICES
. **........ .... ..*.... ... . ......... .
The following legal notices are from the Highlands
County Board of County Commissioners and are be-
ing published in the font, size, and leading as per their
specifications.

1100 Announcements

CHECK

YOUR AD
Please check your ad on the first day
it runs to make sure it is correct.
Sometimes instructions over the
phone are misunderstood and an er-
ror can occur. If this happens to you,
please call us the first day your ad
appears and we will be happy to fix
it as soon as we can.
If We can assist you, please call us:
385-6155--452-1009
465-0426
News-Sun Classified

Are you tired of heavy patient loads which do
not allow you to give the quality care your pa-
tients deserve?
Explore the rewards you can achieve in your
career by becoming a Hospice Nurse in our
Continuous Care department where you will
deliver one-on-one direct patient care your en-
tire shift.

ROYAL CARE OF AVON PARK
We currently have FT and PT positions availa-
ble for all-3-11 shift for C.N.A's that have a
willingness to give excellent loving care to our
residents. We offer an excellent benefit pack-
age. If you want to.Become part of the Royal
Care Team call Maria Perez, HR Director at
453-6674, or apply in person.EOE/MF/ DFWP
SECRET SHOPPERS NEEDED
IMMEDIATELY
For Store Evaluations.
Local Stores, Restaurants, & Theaters.
Training Provided, Flexible Hours.
Assignments Available NOW!!
1-800-585-9024 ext. 6262
Seeking a part-time medical billing 'employee
with a positive attitude, knowledgeable and
experienced dealing with insurance compa-
nies, helpful with patient's account, and will-
ing to be a team player, this position could be-
come full time for the right person.
Seeking a part-time medical assistant with a
positive helpful attitude with three to five
years of medical experience a plus! This cold
become full-time for the right person.
Those interested please mail your cover letter
and resume to The New Sun c/o Box 2196,
2227 US 27 South, Sebring, FL

SUNSHINE PAYDAY LOANS looking for store
clerk to assist owner. Willing to travel in High-
lands & surrounding counties. Self -motivat-
ed, quick learner & hard worker, will train.
Travel a must, fax resume to 863-453-6138.
Wastewater Plant Laborer/Trainee
Grade level 103/104
City of Avon Park is accepting applications for
a full-time Wastewater Plant Laborer/Trainee.
This is an entry-level position in the operation
and maintenance of a municipal wastewater
treatment plant. Work involves performing
routine and semi-skilled assignments in ac-
cordance with established procedures and as-
sisting in a variety of duties to develop skill
and competency in wastewater plant opera-
tions. Operation requires weekends, holidays
and the availability of the employee to be
called out for emergencies. Minimum qualifi-
cation: High School diploma or GED equiva-
lenc, and must obtain a State of Florida class
"'C" Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator
Certification within eighteen (18) months and
must also possess a valid Florida driver's li-
cense. Starting salary: $21,208.10 or if li-
censed $22,312.58, which includes an excel-
lent benefit package. The City of Avon Park is
a Smoke and Drug-Free workplace. E.O.E.
Applications available at City Hall in the Hu-
man Resources Office, 110 E. Main Street,
Avon Park, Fl. 33825. Applications close Fri-
day, May 30, 2008 at 4:30 p.m.

4080 Homes for Sale
40 Sebring
SEB-FOR SALE OR RENT OR LEASE 3BD/2BA
w/office that can be a 4th BD. Golf course
view, FL Room, 21/2 car garage. Owner will
rent or sell at cost to qualified tenant or buy-
er. Call 708-774-8779.
TEACHERS COMING for the new school on
Memorial. Save gas, home for sale near
school. 2BD/2BA/2CG Reduce 30,000. Drive
by 2520 Karen Blvd or call for more details.
863-471-0624

HILL-GUSTAT MIDDLE SCHOOL NEEDS
DONATIONS OF YOUR ATTIC INSTRUMENTS!
Instruments will be cleaned, repaired, and put
in the hands of students who otherwise would
not be able to participate in band. Donors will
be offered a tax deduction letter for the esti-
mated value of the instrument. Thanks!!!!!